


How NOT to Move On

by Redpanda18



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Bokuto Koutarou, Alpha Iwaizumi Hajime, Alpha Kuroo Tetsurou, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kuroo's a good friend, M/M, Mild Language, Non-Graphic Violence, Oikawa's a good friend, Oikawa's a good senpai, Omega Akaashi Keiji, Omega Nishinoya Yuu, Omega Oikawa Tooru, Original Character(s), Possessiveness, Slow Burn, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-07-09 11:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19887280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redpanda18/pseuds/Redpanda18
Summary: The college AU where Akaashi is roommates with Oikawa goes to school with Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Nishinoya, and tries to understand his feelings for Bokuto Koutarou. Unfortunately, it won’t be easy considering that he already has a boyfriend and with Bokuto being down the road from him at school.





	1. A New Start

It’s been a year since Bokuto graduated and left the team in Akaashi’s hands. It’s been a year that Akaashi spent trying to get over his feelings for their ace. He thought their relationship would have changed last year before Bokuto graduated, but it didn’t. Bokuto simply graduated with the promise that the two of them would stay in touch. He didn’t break that promise, but their relationship is definitely weaker. They were both busy and Akaashi is partly responsible for the outcome because he didn’t tell Bokuto when he had the chance. It doesn’t mean it hurts any less. Akaashi spent his third year running their volleyball team, trying to not hate class, and trying not to pursue their former captain. 

The setter ended up meeting his current boyfriend Yasuo while trying to get over the ace. The two of them somehow ended up dating during their third year, and it was going well. Akaashi liked Yasuo, he was kind, a hard worker, and smart. He liked Yasuo, but in some small part of his brain, he couldn’t help but think that he wasn’t Bokuto. Akaashi didn’t like to think he still had feelings for the older boy so he tried very hard not to think about it too much. Bokuto had moved on and now Akaashi had to, although, it would be harder this year because Bokuto’s school was down the street from Akaashi’s.

Akaashi would have gone to the same school as Bokuto, but he wasn’t pursuing volleyball professionally like him and it would just be too complicated. The setter sighs as he finishes unpacking his last box. He’s sharing an apartment with someone but he doesn’t know exactly who it is yet. When he walked in earlier that day, the room looked very organized like someone had already moved in. When Akaashi walked by the second room, he saw that his roommate had already unpacked all of his belongings. He probably got to move in early. 

The setter had spotted a volleyball and a high school jersey from Seijou’s volleyball team. Akaashi had been pretty shocked. Of course, he knew about Seijou but he never would have expected to end up being roommates with one of their players. He looked around the room for a picture of his roommate that he had maybe brought with him, but Akaashi hadn’t’ seen anything so he went back to his room to unpack.

At least he had some idea of who his roommate was. He didn’t know exactly who it would be but knowing that it was someone from Seijou narrowed it down a little bit. Akaashi briefly wondered if it was Oikawa when he heard the door being unlocked. He stepped out of his room and into the main area to greet whoever the person was. A moment later the door swung open to reveal none other than Oikawa Tooru. 

Seijou’s former captain stepped into the apartment and his eyes immediately locked onto Akaashi’s. His mouth opened in surprise but he quickly masked it as he approached the younger setter.

“Well well, it appears that the cat was right. There is someone who’s prettier than me,” Oikawa teases.

Akaashi feels his face start to heat up and quickly looks away. Oikawa laughs at him and goes on to introduce himself. 

“I’m Oikawa Tooru! I’m a second-year business major and I went to Seijou for high school.”

Akaashi nods at him.

“I’m Akaashi Keiji, I’m a first-year business major and I went to Fukurodani Academy,” Akaashi replies.

Oikawa’s face suddenly goes blank, but then it transforms into one of amusement as he smiles at Akaashi almost devilishly. 

  
“Ahhhhh. You’re  _ the  _ Akaashi Keiji, the only guy who can control Bokuto-chan and Fukurodani’s setter. Kuroo-chan’s told me about you but I never thought we’d go to the same school, yet here we are going to be living together! I didn’t realize that’s who you were, sorry.”   
  
“Oh, um it’s ok,” Akaashi responds quietly.

Oikawa seems to sense his nervousness and tries to ease the tension by talking more.

“I heard of Kuroo-chan and your team as well in high school, but I actually got to know Kuroo last year because he’s roommates with Iwa-cha! They live on the second floor in the dorm next to us. Anyway, I know you from both Kuroo and Kou-chan. Kou-chan sometimes hangs out with the cat so I’ve seen him a couple of times and both of them talk highly of you,” Oikawa explains brightly. 

Akaashi is momentarily stunned. He’s not sure what to do with all the information Oikawa just gave him. He’s relieved that Kuroo goes to the same school as him and lives pretty close by, but he’s also freaking out about the fact that Bokuto knows Oikawa and that Bokuto comes to their school to hang out with Kuroo. That means that he can’t avoid the ace forever. Bokuto will eventually want to hang out with Kuroo and the setter is sure that once Kuroo knows he’s here he’ll tell his best friend. It’s not like Bokuto doesn’t know he goes to this school, but Akaashi was hoping he’d just want to hang out with Kuroo and that maybe he wouldn’t have to see Bokuto for a good long while. Apparently, that is not the case since he is now living close to Bokuto’s best friend and also Oikawa who know knows about him and the ace. 

Akaashi is slightly wary of Oikawa even though he knows he really shouldn’t be. It’s irrational, but he finds himself worrying how much Oikawa knows about him and Bokuto. He doesn’t know how much Kuroo’s told him and he’s scared that Oikawa may know how he felt about the older boy. The setter suddenly feels the other boy’s gaze on him.

“Everything ok?” Oikawa asks evenly without any judgment in his voice.

Akaashi looks down at his hands and realizes he was fidgeting with his hands like he tends to do when he’s nervous. He tries to calmly place his arms at his sides and not think about the fact that Oikawa probably thinks he’s weird now. He stares at the floor as he mumbles out a quick explanation.

“It’s a bad habit, sorry.”

“It’s ok. I understand if you aren’t comfortable with me yet,” Oikawa says honestly.

_ Great, now he feels guilty.  _ He wants to trust the other setter, but something’s holding him back right now. He needs to give Oikawa an answer though.

“I’m sorry, please don’t take it personally. It takes me a while to trust people,” Akaashi responds. It’s the truth, but he’s not even sure himself that this is the real reason.

“I already told you it’s fine Aka-chan!” Oikawa laughs.

“Aka-chan?”   
  
“Don’t you like it? I’m not really sure about it either. How about Kei-chan?”

“Uhhhh…”

“Alright, Kei-chan it is!”

Before Akaashi can say anything, the older boy is already bounding over to the sofa. Akaashi is left standing there wondering what just happened. He’s barely met Oikawa and he’s already been given a nickname. He’s not really sure what to make of the other right now, but he supposes he can go along with it.

Oikawa settles himself onto the sofa after he finds the remote and glances over his shoulder to look at Akaashi.

“Aren’t you gonna watch with me?” He asks innocently, and that’s all it takes to get Akaashi moving.

He takes a seat on the cushion closest to the arm of the sofa so he can lean on it and also be a respectable distance from Oikawa. The former captain switches the channel until he finds the one he was looking for. It’s some kind of documentary, and judging by the unique crop designs flashing across the screen it’s something about UFOs and aliens.

“I didn’t know you liked aliens Oikawa-san.”   
  
“They’re super interesting! I’ve been into this subject since I was a kid, Iwa-chan used to tease me about it all the time.”

“I see.”

“Oh, that reminds me.”   
  
Akaashi looks over at him from his position on the sofa.

“Would you be ok if Iwa-chan and Tetsu-chan come over later?”   
  
“Sure, that’s fine.”   
  
“Ok great! They come over sometimes when open house hours are longer.”   
  
“Open house hours?”   
  
“Students are only allowed to have visitors over until two am on weekends, and eleven pm on weekdays. By visitors I mean anyone who isn’t an omega,” Oikawa says casually.

_ Oh yeah.  _ Akaashi forgot that their school separates students by their secondary gender and not their age. He read it somewhere on the website when he was researching, but he forgot.

“I don’t really like it, but I do understand why we have these rules,” Oikawa adds quietly.

Akaashi understands too. Sometimes he hates being an omega. Usually, he doesn’t mind but occasionally there will be rules or people that remind him of his status. In this case, though he understands the reasoning for separating them. It would be really bad if an omega were in heat and they happened to have an alpha living on the same floor as them, or even an alpha roommate. That would be a disaster.

The two setters end up watching another alien documentary and an alien movie before falling asleep on the sofa. One thing that Akaashi is surprised about, but maybe he shouldn’t be, is how clingy Oikawa is. The older boy ended up draping himself on top of Akaashi halfway through the second documentary. Akaashi was tense for a little bit, but after realizing Oikawa wasn’t going to move, he just accepted it and ended up drifting off to sleep at the beginning of the alien movie.

Everything is warm and comfy and Akaashi never wants to wake up. Even though Oikawa’s kind of heavy, his presence isn’t unwelcome. He’s basically laying in Akaashi’s lap right now. His head is resting on the armrest but the rest of his body is splayed out across the younger omega’s legs. Meanwhile, Akaashi is leaning against the armrest with his head on his left arm. The setter can smell Oikawa’s natural Jasmine scent. It’s strong but stable indicating that the other boy is in a calm state. It’s oddly comforting which kind of confuses Akaashi because the only scents he’s ever liked are Bokuto’s, his team’s, Kuroo’s, and Kenma’s. Yasuo’s scent is ok, but he’s not drawn to it like the others’ scents. Part of him feels guilty for admitting that, but it’s the truth.

Akaashi’s minds start spiraling as he starts considering what that means.  _ Is it wrong of him to not like his boyfriend’s scent?  _ However, his thoughts are rudely interrupted by their apartment door being flung open. It hits the wall with a  _ bang  _ and both Oikawa and Akaashi are scrambling to get off the sofa. They accidentally trip over each other though and Akaashi ends up on the floor and Oikawa trips over him a second later. Oikawa quickly regains his balance though and has barely helped Akaashi up when Kuroo and Iwaizumi walk through the door, well more like strut, Kuroo waltzes in like he owns the place.

Kuroo’s gaze immediately zeros in on the two setters and his eyes widen a fraction in surprise at seeing Akaashi before he bursts into laughter.

“Oh, this is rich! Wait till I tell Bokuto about this! I can just see his reaction knowing what you two were just doing!”

“It’s not what you think!” Oikawa yells as he fixes Kuroo with a death glare.

“It better not be trashykawa!” Iwaizumi growls as he hits Oikawa on the arm.

  
“Ow! Iwa-chan I swear nothing happened,” the setter whines as he gives the spiker sad puppy dog eyes.

Akaashi watches the whole thing unfold and isn’t sure how to react in the slightest. The dynamic between the three of them is, interesting. After a few more minutes of Kuroo’s teasing and Oikawa’s whining, Iwaizumi finally tells Oikawa that he was kidding and that he knows Oikawa would never cheat on him. The setter squeals loudly and then is swiftly hit again by the spiker. Kuroo clears his throat to get everyone’s attention before the chaos can continue.

“Ok, so, Akaashi. Meet Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa’s boyfriend, and Iwaizumi meet Akaashi Keiji, Bokuto’s other half and Fukurodani’s setter.”

Akaashi feels his heart rate pick up when Kuroo says he’s Bokuto’s other half. He would love for that to be true, but it’s not. He’s also only a little surprised that Oikawa and Iwaizumi are boyfriends. He’s heard about what a great duo they were in high school and that they were childhood friends. Iwaizumi nods at him politely and gives him a genuine smile.

“Nice to meet you. Kuroo’s told us about you before, but it’s nice to actually meet you in person. Also, sorry in advance for this mess,” Iwaizumi explains as he points to Oikawa.

That gets a laugh out of Akaashi.

“It’s fine, I’ve dealt with worse before.”

  
  
“I like him,” Iwaizumi states bluntly.

“What? Iwa-chan no! I’m supposed to be the one you-” Oikawa starts.

Iwaizumi cuts him off before he can finish by slapping a hand over his mouth and sighing. He pretends to be annoyed by Oikawa’s antics, but Akaashi can tell he’s fond of the setter. Akaashi feels Kuroo step up to his right side and sling an arm around his shoulders.

“So, real talk. Why are you here? I thought you would have gone to the same school as Bokuto. He never told me that you changed your mind. Actually, you never let me know either and I’m pretty sure I told you I was coming here for school.”   
  
Akaashi sighs.

“I’m studying business, and this school has a better program. Plus, I can just walk down the street if I wanted to see him. Also, I didn’t think to tell you what college I chose because I didn’t think it was important,” he says coolly.

Kuroo glances down at him and Akaashi can tell he’s trying to read him, but it does make him a little nervous. Kuroo is actually very perceptive, he can read Kenma like an open book and he got pretty good at reading Akaashi because of the training camps they did together. Eventually, Kuroo bends down and whispers in his ear.

“Are you avoiding Bokuto?”

“No.”   
  
_ Crap. I said it too fast. Now he’s going to know I’m lying.  _ Kuroo’s right, but Akaashi can’t let him know that. Akaashi brushes Kuroo’s arm off his shoulders and looks him dead in the eye. He’s trying to convey that he doesn’t want to talk about it right now, but Kuroo seems to want to push the subject.

“You don’t need to avoid him. I don’t really know the details of what’s going on, but he’s not mad at you.”   
  
“That’s not it,” Akaashi replies curtly.

“It’s not?”

“No, now please drop it Kuroo-san.”

Kuroo finally gets the message and backs off. Akaashi feels a little bad, but he’s mainly happy his secret wasn’t just exposed. The setter makes his way to the dining table where Oikawa and Iwaizumi are sitting and takes a seat next to his fellow omega. Kuroo opts to sit next to Seijou’s ace. Once Oikawa realizes Akaashi is sitting next to him, he smiles at him and tries to engage him in their conversation.

“So Kei-chan,”

“Kei-chan?” Kuroo and Iwaizumi laugh incredulously.

“Hey! Don’t laugh, it suits him!”   
  
“Right.”

Oikawa glares at Iwaizumi but then he suddenly whips his head over to stare intensely at Akaashi, it’s kind of unnerving.

“Yes, Oikawa-san?” 

“How’s Kou-chan doing? I haven’t heard from him for a while.”

  
  
“Why would I know that?” 

  
  
Akaashi doesn’t mean for that to come out so defensive, but it does. Oikawa narrows his eyes at him and tilts his head innocently, however, his eyes shine with mischief.

“Ohhhhh. I see. Trouble in paradise?”

  
  
“What?” Akaashi responds, displeased.

“Oikawa cut it out,” Iwaizumi warns.

Even Kuroo frowns at Oikawa’s statement. Akaashi takes a moment to mentally calm himself before responding. 

“There is no trouble in paradise because we aren’t dating.”

An awkward silence falls over the group. Akaashi prays that Oikawa got the hint, but apparently not.

“Oh, you’re not? Honestly, that’s pretty surprising considering what I’ve heard about you and what Bokuto says about you. So if you aren’t dating him then are you seeing someone else?”

Now Akaashi’s irritated. He desperately wants to tell Oikawa that it’s none of his business and not talk to him for a week, but they live together. He’s going to have to brush the other off enough to let him know that he doesn’t want to talk about this, but also be gentle enough to not have Oikawa get mad at him. With the way he was acting earlier, Akaashi thought they would get along well, but apparently, he was wrong.

“I am seeing someone else. His name is Yasuo and that’s all I’m going to tell you.”

“Really?! How old is he? What does he look like? What school does he go to? How did you meet him?” Oikawa rambles.

Iwaizumi wastes no time in reaching across the table and hitting the back of Oikawa’s head.

“Trashykawa he said that’s all you’re gonna get! Now leave him alone he obviously doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“Ugh fine,” the setter pouts as he rubs the back of his head.

Kuroo shoots Akaashi a concerned gaze that he tries to ignore. He doesn’t want anyone’s pity. It’s been a long day, and even though it’s kind of early to go to bed that’s the excuse he’s going to use. He wants to be alone for a little bit. Akaashi pushes back his chair and stands up.

“I’m going to head off to bed. You can stay as long as you like though, it was nice meeting you Iwaizumi-san.”

Iwaizumi nods at him as Akaashi addresses him and the three friends watch the first year disappear down the left hallway to his bedroom.

“Why do you always have to provoke people?” The ace sighs.

“I’m sorry I can’t help it! I just wanted to know. I didn’t know he would get so upset.”   
  
“You guys have to live together, please try not to kill each other,” Kuroo adds. 

“That’s not helping! Oikawa you need to fix this.”

“Why?”

  
  
“I’m serious.”

  
  
“Ok, ok, I was kidding. I will. Just let me handle it.”

  
  
Both Iwaizumi and Kuroo give Oikawa a  _ look _ . 

“I hate both of you.”

  
  
“Now I know that’s a lie because you’re dating one us,” Kuroo snickers.

“Stop!”   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Akaashi’s still mildly irritated with Oikawa the next day. Fortunately, they both have class the next day so Akaashi avoids having to see Oikawa in the morning. He must have an early class because when Akaashi woke up the other setter was already gone. He was really hoping things would work out between the two of them. It’s not that he doesn’t think they will anymore, it’s just that he’s even more wary of Oikawa now. The older boy started out just being overly curious and clingy which he was fine with, but then he started asking about his private life and Bokuto which wasn’t so fine.

Akaashi lets out a frustrated sigh as he walks to his first class. He headed out early because he doesn’t know the campus well, and he’s afraid he’ll get lost. Having to find his way to multiple classes is way more stressful than just being able to sit in one classroom and have the teachers come to you like in high school. It’s stressing him out more than it should.

He eventually finds his way to the science building where his biology class is. It’s on the opposite side of campus from the apartments and dorms. Somehow, he made it without getting lost which means he has a few minutes before class. He decides to sit in the middle in the third row from the front. He doesn’t want to be right in the front, but he also wants to be able to see. He has some time so he decides to check his phone. He feels guilt settle in his stomach when he realizes Yasuo texted him yesterday.

He was too busy worrying about the whole Oikawa and Kuroo interaction that he forgot to check his phone. 

**Yasuo** : Hey! How was moving in? Who’s your roommate?

**Yasuo** : Babe? I guess you’re busy I’ll take that as a good thing! Do you want to hang out this weekend and catch up?

**Keiji** : Moving in was good. My roommate is Oikawa Tooru from Seijou. His boyfriend Iwaizumi also goes here and so does Kuroo-san

After typing out a reply, Akaashi turns his phone on silent so it doesn’t ring in class and stuffs it into his backpack. He’ll have to remember to check it later. He silently gets out his laptop, a notebook, and a pen. He ends up aimlessly flipping through his empty notebook. Being in college is kind of a weird feeling. He’s always been independent so he likes the feeling of freedom, but it’s also a little lonely. He misses Fukurodani and his friends from volleyball. Here, it feels like he’s started over with making friends and that’s really stressful.

He supposes that Kuroo is his friend, and maybe even Oikawa and Iwaizumi eventually, but it’s not the same. The sound of the door opening startles him a bit but he looks up to see who entered.  _ Is that _ -

“Oh! It’s Akaashi-san!” A loud voice explains.

Karasuno’s libero, Nishinoya Yuu waves at him enthusiastically when he spots him. He wastes no time in bounding up the steps and taking a seat next to the setter.

“I didn’t know you went here!”

  
  
“Yeah,” Akaashi replies softly.

“It’s so nice to see someone I know!”

  
  
“Kuroo-san, Oikawa-san, and Iwaizumi-san also go here.”

  
  
“Wait really? Hmmm, so the cat guy, The Grand King, and Seijou’s ace go here too. Not really sure how to respond to that.”

  
  
“Honestly me either.”

“How did you find out they went here?”

  
  
“Um. I’m actually roommates with Oikawa-san and his boyfriend Iwaizumi is roommates with Kuroo-san so that’s how.”

  
  
Nishinoya gives him a surprised look, but it also contains a hint of confusion.

“I knew those two were dating! Tanaka owes me twenty bucks now. Anyway rooming with the Grand King must be rough, sorry.”

Akaashi laughs.

“We may have got off on the wrong foot but he’s not a bad guy.”

  
  
“Ok, if you say so!”

  
  
The two first years talk about volleyball and various other things before more students file in and the professor finally arrives. Luckily, the libero doesn’t mention Bokuto at all, so Akaashi finds himself relaxing after a few minutes.

The professor takes attendance and then starts going over the syllabus. Overall, it’s exactly what Akaashi expected for the first day of class. He has to shake the smaller male awake a couple of times during the lecture, but other than that it isn’t that bad. Nishinoya asks Akaashi if he wants to get lunch after the lecture so they end up going to the cafeteria to get a sandwich. They find a nice spot outside after getting food and Nishinoya starts up a conversation about Karasuno’s volleyball team.

He tells Akaashi where the third years went to school and where the second years went too. He even tells Akaashi what their powerful duo is up to and that Yamaguchi is captain. Akaashi listens patiently and fills in the libero on his own team, though he becomes a little tense when talking about Bokuto. He hopes Nishinoya doesn't notice.

“Oh yeah! That means you’re closer to Bokuto-san again! We should all play a match sometime, three on three with Kuroo-san, Oikawa-san, and Iwaizumi-san!”

Akaashi is still uneasy with the idea of seeing Bokuto again, but he has to admit that playing volleyball again is very tempting. He’ll have to take Nishinoya up on his offer.

“That sounds like fun.”

  
  
“Yeah! We should do it this weekend or something!”

“Oh, I’m actually going to be gone this weekend but maybe next weekend?” The setter suggests.

“Oh that’s ok! Where are you going?”

The omega debates telling the truth or not, and he decides lying is too much work.

“I’m going to visit my boyfriend at another college.”

  
  
“Oh!” 

  
  
Nishinoya looks more curious than surprised. He opens his mouth like he wants to ask something, but then he closes it and groans.

“What’s wrong?”

  
  
“I’m not sure how to ask this without being rude. I don’t want to like, you know, make you uncomfortable,” the libero admits sheepishly.

“Ah, I think I get it. I don’t mind, I’m assuming you want to know who it is?”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!”

  
  
“It’s fine, his name is Yasuo and he’s a first-year in college like we are. He goes to a college a few miles away from here, not the same one Bokuto goes to.”   
  
“Ohhh ok!” 

Nishinoya looks genuinely happy for him. Akaashi can tell he’s a little shocked that it isn’t who he thought it was, but he masks it well. The libero is as energetic as always as they switch topics and the rest of their lunch goes by quickly. Biology is the only class the two of them have together, so after lunch the two of them part ways. 

All of Akaashi’s other classes go about the same as his first one. They only talk about the syllabus so everything’s pretty low stress so far. He has gym with Kuroo, history with Iwaizumi, but nothing with Oikawa. Out of all of them, he would have expected to have a class with Oikawa considering they have the same major, but he is one year above Akaashi so it kind of makes sense, but only a little.

By the time he’s done with all his classes, all he wants to do is take a nap. It’s only four in the afternoon but he’s so tired. He used to be able to go to morning practice, school, and practice again in high school, but now he can barely do three classes. The setter doesn’t really want to sleep though because he would feel unproductive, so he ends up wandering back to the gym. He’s walking through the halls until he hears the distinct sound of a volleyball hitting the hardwood floor. It immediately piques his interest and he silently follows the sound until he reaches one of the gym rooms in the back of the building. 

He peeks in and sees Oikawa practicing his serve. The setter tosses the ball up high and Akaashi is mesmerized by the spin of the ball until Oikawa runs and slams it down with great force. The ball barely misses the water bottle on the opposite side of the court before bouncing off into the stands. Oikawa lets out a small noise of irritation as he stares at the water bottle like it’s personally offended him. It’s a little funny.

“That was close,” Akaashi says positively.

Oikawa whips around at the sound of someone else's voice, but he relaxes once he sees who it is.

“I’m not going to be playing volleyball regularly anymore, but I’m still drawn to it. I can’t live without it, and even though I won’t be playing it as much, it’s still nice to come back to,” he muses.

“I know what you mean.”   
  
Akaashi walks across the room and picks up the volleyball from the stands while Oikawa watches him carefully. Akaashi tosses it back to him and the other boy catches it easily. The two of them maintain eye contact for a few seconds, each expecting the other to say something before Akaashi looks away.

“Um, sorry about yesterday,” Oikawa blurts. 

“Oh.”   
  
Oikawa spins the ball nervously in his hands as he continues talking.

“I didn’t mean for it to come out so aggressive I guess? I don’t know. I’m sorry, I was curious because Kou-chan always talks about how awesome you are and your relationship seemed like mine and Iwa-chan’s so I just kinda assumed…” Oikawa trails off.

“Kou-chan?” Akaashi smiles.

The older omega huffs.

  
  
“Why do you guys always judge my nicknames?!”

“Sorry. Well, I’m not really that angry anymore so I guess I forgive you.

“Really!?”

  
  
Oikawa looks relieved.

“Yeah, just don’t pry too much again.”

  
  
“Right, sorry.”

Oikawa holds the volleyball in front of him like a peace offering as he grins at the other setter.

“Wanna play a set?”

Akaashi shrugs off his backpack, tosses it to the side, and rolls his sleeves up.

“You’re on.”


	2. The Past and Bokuto

The days went by quickly. Classes started picking up and he started getting closer with his new friends. He did end up going to see Yasuo that first weekend, but it felt like something had changed. Their conversations were short and it seemed like his boyfriend had more pressing matters on his mind. They talked about the new people they met and other basic things, but Akaashi knew something was wrong. When he tried to bring it up, Yasuo quickly brushed it off. 

Something was wrong and Akaashi was beginning to worry that it was something he did. That weekend was the most awkward and tense one they’ve had and he came back to school in a bad mood. For the most part, he was able to ignore it with all the assignments he had to keep up with and his friends there to distract him. They had taken to playing volleyball every Friday night as a fun get together kind of thing since they didn’t all have classes together. Nishinoya had definitely become a part of their group and he was usually on the same team as Akaashi and Kuroo, but occasionally he would play against the setter with Iwaizumi and Oikawa.

It was a nice routine and the five of them were getting along well. None of their matches were ever dull with Kuroo being the devilish cat he is, Oikawa’s whining, and Nishinoya’s energy. Things were great, except for the issue with Yasuo, and Akaashi found the next few months go by very quickly. Things were going well for the most part, but each week that went by had Akaashi wondering about Bokuto. Honestly, he missed him. He missed his overzealous and clingy captain who always used to be at his side, and he thought he was finally ready to see him again without completely freaking out.

He asks Kuroo about Bokuto more and more often and Kuroo starts to pick up that he wants to see the ace again, but he doesn’t pry anymore. However, he still teases Akaashi, and he even gets Oikawa in on it. There is one thing worse than Oikawa and Kuroo bickering with each other, and that’s having them gang up on him. Iwaizumi and Nishinoya defend him for a little bit until they also got tired of him stalling and told him to just go see Bokuto already.

So here he is now. It’s late November, Akaashi is sanding outside Bokuto’s apartment dressed in three layers with a red scarf, and his heart is pounding rapidly in his chest. He has no idea how Bokuto is going to react.  _ Will he be mad that I haven’t contacted him in so long? What if he doesn’t want to see me? What do I even say? I have no excuse. _

Akaashi closes his eyes as he sums up the courage to knock on Bokuto’s door and then raps on the wood three times. There’s no answer.  _ Maybe he’s gone? I don’t exactly know his schedule. He could be ignoring me though. No, I came all the way here I’m knocking again. _

The setter knocks on the door a second time before he can second guess himself. He pauses again and waits, there’s no answer. His heart drops in disappointment. He’ll just have to come back another time. Akaashi walks back to the elevator and gets on silently. He wrings his hands anxiously as he waits for the elevator to reach the first floor. He’s going to have to text Kuroo soon that it didn’t work out. The elevator grinds to a halt and the doors slide open. Akaashi steps out of the elevator and goes to leave the building when he smells it, the sharp scent of cinnamon mixed with a little bit of apple. Bokuto’s scent is as sharp and unique as his personality and Akaashi instantly recognizes it.

He spins around in a circle trying to find the ace and finally sees him emerge from one of the hallways attached to the lobby. He’s wearing a simple black t-shirt that shows off his muscles and dark blue jeans. His outfit is simple, and kind of out of place for November, but he looks just as good as Akaashi remembers. Bokuto almost leaves without seeing Akaashi because he’s busy looking at his phone, but then he sees him in his peripherals and spins around so fast the setter is afraid he’s going to fall. 

He walks over to Akaashi almost in slow-motion until they’re finally only mere inches apart. Bokuto’s golden eyes meet Akaashi’s deep green ones and the ace smiles shyly, which is kind of unusual but also understandable.

“Akaashi,” Bokuto breathes happily.

“Hi Bokuto-san.”

He’s really glad he’s wearing a scarf right because he’s sure his face and ears are bright red right now. He hopes the scarf covers at least part of his face. His heart is pounding in excitement and he feels slightly giddy. Maybe he hasn’t really gotten over his crush. 

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m mad or anything! I’m just confused I guess since we haven’t talked in a while.”

Akaashi feels a pang of guilt at that statement.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just shut you out like that I’m sorry.”

  
  
Akaashi doesn’t think he can tell Bokuto anything else, because that would mean admitting his feelings for him and a whole mess of other things. Bokuto hums and then shakes his head.

“It’s ok! You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to and I forgive you!” The ace laughs cheerfully.

“W-why?” Akaashi is genuinely confused.

“All that matters is that you’re here now. We’re still gonna be friends you know, something like this wouldn’t ruin it.”

“Thank you Bokuto-san.”

  
  
He’s honestly really relieved. This went much better than he thought it would. 

“So, um, did you want to hang out or something?”

  
  
_ Oh yeah.  _ He actually needs to tell Bokuto the reason he’s here.

“Kuroo-san, Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san, Nishinoya-san, and I are having our usual Friday volleyball game. I was wondering if you wanted to come? Only if you’re not busy though,” the setter’s voice goes up at the end in a hopeful manner.

“Yeah! That would be great!” Bokuto shouts.

Akaashi winces a bit and the ace apologizes.

“Ok. I have to go back to school now, I have a class in twenty minutes but it was nice talking to you Bokuto-san!”   
  
Bokuto beams at him and Akaashi feels like he’s looking at direct sunlight, not that he’s complaining though. Akaashi gives Bokuto a rare smile before the two part ways. He has to tell himself not to run out of the building as he walks away. He hasn’t felt this way in a while. He feels invincible, and he definitely can’t wait for Friday.

  
  
  
  


* * *

It’s eleven-thirty at night when Akaashi’s phone goes off. He rolls onto his side on the bed and scoops his phone off the nightstand. His eyes widen a bit in surprise. It’s Yasuo. The two of them have been texting back and forth and they call each other every week, but something still seems off. Akaashi’s visited him a couple more times and he seems more distant. He used to be very clingy, almost like Oikawa and Bokuto, but recently it seems like he’s been trying to avoid touching Akaashi. When he was over at Yasuo’s last weekend the alpha made a point of keeping at least a foot of space between them.

Akaashi hasn’t said anything yet mainly because it isn’t a huge problem. He knows omegas need touch and that without it they could experience touch starvation which can lead to a drop or worse. However, he’s getting plenty of affection from his friends, especially Oikawa who is a naturally touchy person, so he hasn’t felt the effects very much. Of course, it was better when the two of them were physically affectionate, but he can’t bring himself to say anything. It almost feels selfish to ask that of Yasuo and if he’s being honest he’s a little scared. The setter knows there’s some deeper issue to his boyfriend’s behavior and he doesn’t want to make him angry and make their relationship worse, it’s strained enough as it is.

Akaashi sighs as he unlocks his phone to look at the text message. He doesn’t want to deal with this right now, but he wants to know what’s wrong.

**Yasuo** : Are you doing anything Friday?

**Keiji** : Yes I’m playing volleyball with my friends like I do every Friday

**Yasuo** : Who else is going to be there?

**Keiji** : Um what do you mean? I’m playing with the usual people

**Yasuo** : Is Bokuto going to be there?

**Keiji** : Yes but why would that matter in the first place

**Yasuo** : You can’t be alone with him he’s an alpha and were you just not going to tell me that HE would be there

Akaashi is tempted to call out Yasuo and tell him that he’s an alpha too, but he doesn’t. He’s also unsure why Yasuo is acting so hostile towards Bokuto all of a sudden.

**Keiji** : That’s not your choice and Bokuto-san would never hurt me

**Yasuo** : He’s trying to seduce you Keiji! Why can’t you see that?

Akaashi nearly drops his phone at Yasuo’s last message. He’s getting pretty fed up right now. Yasuo’s acting possessive all of a sudden and it’s irritating the omega.

**Keiji** : Why are you acting so possessive all of a sudden?

**Yasuo** : Why are you acting so dense all of a sudden?

  
  
**Keiji** : Excuse you?

**Yasuo** : He obviously likes you Keiji! I knew that before we started dating but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think he was a threat

**Keiji** : So he’s a threat now?

**Yasuo** : Yes, and you’re mine

**Keiji** : ...You don’t own me now leave me alone

**Yasuo** : Wait babe I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that come back

  
**Yasuo** : are you still going to that volleyball match

**Yasuo** : ok nvm you’re mad

  
  


Akaashi aggressively turns his phone off and slams it on the bedside table. He rarely gets angry, but this just pissed him off. Yasuo went from ignoring him to becoming possessive, to just outright having a tantrum. At least he kind of knows why Yasuo’s been off. He thinks Bokuto is a threat.  _ But why? There’s got to be more to it than just Yasuo thinking Bokuto likes Akaashi, which he thinks is untrue anyway. And how dare he basically just call him a piece of property! Ugh! _

Akaashi is aware his scent has become more potent and has taken on a bitter edge because of his anger, but he couldn’t care less. The setter flops onto his back on the bed and stares intensely at the ceiling like it could solve his problems. 

_ Knock knock _

Akaashi doesn’t move from his position even when Oikawa steps into his room a moment later. He gets one look at the fellow omega and frowns.

“What happened? I could smell your anger all the way from my room.”

  
  
“Sorry.”

  
  
It comes out super sarcastic because he’s still mad and Akaashi flinches at its rudeness.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” he ends up saying.

Oikawa shrugs it off and goes to sit on the end of Akaashi’s bed.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

  
  
_ Does he? Actually yeah, he does. _

“I got in a fight with Yasuo.” 

Oikawa knows who Yasuo is by now so he doesn’t seem surprised.

“About what?”

  
  
“...he got really possessive like he didn’t want me to be with Bokuto alone and he wanted to know who I was playing with Friday. Then he said that I was his and I know that I should be happy that he cares that much but I just took it the wrong way.”

  
  
“Ohhhhhhh. Yeah that is really possessive, it sounds like he’s jealous? I’m not sure why now though. You told me the two of you went to high school together. I see why you took his phrasing the wrong way, I mean he did make it sound like he owned you and I hate when people do that to omegas just because we’re the lowest sub gender. So I don’t blame you.”

“I thought we were ok, I guess I was wrong.”

  
  
Oikawa smells the second Akaashi’s scent shifts from angry to hurt, and he wastes no time in scooching up on the bed to lie next to his friend. He gently plays with the younger boy’s soft black curls until he feels him start to calm down.

“Let’s go to bed Kei-chan,” Oikawa whispers.

“Ok.”   
  
The captain reaches across Akaashi to flick off the bedside lamp before falling back to lie down again. Hopefully, everything will be solved soon.

  
  
  
  
  


__

* * *

_ One year ago _

_ Unknown number has added Bokuto to the chat. _

**Yasuo** : Hey

**Bokuto** : Um hi? Who is this and how did u get my #

**Yasuo** : This is Yasuo I’m a second year at Fukurodani I got your # from Konoha-senpai

**Bokuto** : Oh hey! Did u need something?

**Yasuo** : I’m planning on asking Keiji out

**Bokuto** : Um r u asking me for advice?

**Yasuo** : No I’m asking you not to intervene

**Bokuto** : What

**Yasuo** : I like Keiji a lot, I’ve liked him since we had class together when we were first years, but he seems really close to you

**Bokuto** : Why is this my problem

**Yasuo** : Because you aren’t good enough for him

**Bokuto** : Did you text me just to insult me because that’s rude

**Yasuo** : It’s true though, you’re unreliable and emotionally unstable you’ll just drag Keiji down. He needs a real alpha, I’m going to ask him out once you leave and you’re not going to do anything

**Bokuto** : You can’t just tell me what to do I’m older than you, and what if Keiji liked me?

**Yasuo** : You won’t say anything to him about this chat or else I’ll make sure he suffers. He only lives a few blocks away from me. You and Keiji are finished  understand? And don’t tell anyone because I’ll know if you do got it?

  
  
**Bokuto** : Yes

_ Unknown number has left the chat _

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Present-day

Bokuto flops onto his bed and closes his eyes. Yesterday, he got to see Akaashi again and it was simultaneously exciting and terrifying. He was about to walk out the door when he saw the familiar black curls in his peripheral vision and immediately spun around. The setter had been bundled up for the cold weather and he looked adorable. Bokuto had missed him a lot, but he didn’t want to put him in danger so he had cut down on texting the other boy.

After Yasuo had threatened him, the ace tried to keep his distance from Akaashi because he was afraid he would get hurt, but it was hard. Akaashi still texted him and Bokuto didn’t want to be completely shut out, so he texted back. Eventually, though, the texts started becoming fewer and fewer and Bokuto knew that Akaashi was probably busy with his high school life and with Yasuo. He was convinced that Akaashi had moved on and he figured it was for the best, so he just let it happen even though it was one of the worst feelings.    
  
He desperately wanted to tell Akaashi or anyone, but his fear that the setter would get hurt was greater than his desire to tell the truth. He had accepted that their relationship would never be the same when he got a text for Kuroo at the beginning of the year. Kuroo had told him that Akaashi was Oikawa’s roommate and asked if something had happened between them. His best friend told him that Akaashi got upset when he had mentioned him to the younger boy. That news had hurt, but he wasn’t surprised. Akaashi probably hated him now anyway with how distant they had become and with him dating Yasuo now. The second-year had texted him smugly after he had asked the omega out last year and Bokuto wanted to punch him in the face. Kuroo gave Bokuto regular updates on Akaashi, like how he was doing in class, and that a group of five of them started playing volleyball every Friday.

Bokuto missed playing volleyball with Akaashi. He played almost every day, but he missed his setter. It just wasn’t the same. Kuroo would sometimes ask Bokuto what he felt for Akaashi, but he would never say because he didn’t entirely know himself, and eventually Kuroo gave up. Things stayed the same for a while with Kuroo just telling Bokuto what all of them were up to, but then earlier this month he started saying that Akaashi had been asking him about Bokuto. That had surprised him. The ace thought Akaashi hated him. Something must have changed.

Kuroo told him that he should really talk to Akaashi and that he suspected something was up between him and his boyfriend. That had worried Bokuto but he didn’t push for any information. He was confused as to why Akaashi would ask Kuroo how he was doing instead of texting Bokuto himself, he had his number. Kuroo hadn’t known the answer to that question either and told him to just ask Akaashi himself and then asked Bokuto to give him his address.

The ace had given Kuroo his address willingly without realizing what he was up to, so when Akaashi suddenly showed up yesterday he was stunned. Seeing his friend again had just reinforced why he was in love with him. Besides all the layers he was wearing, his nose and the tips of his ears were red and Bokuto was overwhelmed with the desire to just wrap him up in a hug and never let go. Fortunately, he had remained calm and didn’t end up smothering the setter. He was surprised that Akaashi apologized for ignoring him because he honestly thought it was the other way around, but he had accepted it anyway and was elated when the setter invited him to play volleyball Friday.

It hadn’t hit him until a few hours after Akaashi left what he had done. Yasuo had warned him not to contact Akaashi, and here he was about to play with him in person again. He had spent the whole evening and night yesterday freaking out about Yasuo’s reaction. He finally got a glimpse of what Yasuo really thought when he received a text from the other boy at two am this morning. Yasuo had basically told Bokuto to stay away from Akaashi again and to stop trying to seduce him. He called Bokuto a horrible and unfit alpha again and reiterated that Akaashi was  _ his  _ and that he could do anything he wanted to him. Unsurprisingly, he had gotten really pissed when Yasuo said that. Then the younger alpha blamed Bokuto for his fight with Akaashi and all the problems they were having.

That had gotten Bokuto’s attention. He didn’t know the two of them had fought. He knew from Kuroo that their relationship wasn’t doing great, but he didn’t realize they had fought recently. The first thing that came to his mind was Akaashi’s safety.  _ Did Yasuo do something to him? _ The last thing the alpha had texted him was to not go to the volleyball game on Friday. Bokuto would have listened to him if it weren’t for the news that the two of them had fought, now he would never be able to rest without making sure Akaashi was ok first. He was going to that game no matter what Yasuo said, he needed to make sure the setter was ok.

He couldn’t focus at all today in any of his classes. All his thoughts were occupied with Akaashi and if he was ok. He worked himself up so much that during afternoon practice he could barely hit any spikes. The coach had yelled at him and his teammates had asked him what was going on. Volleyball didn’t provide its usual relief so he stormed back to his room after practice to mope in the comfort of his own room, so here he is now, staring at the ceiling contemplating his life.

He’s not really sure what to feel anymore. He knows he feels something for Akaashi, but he’s not sure what. All he knows is that he wants to punch Yasuo. He really hates the guy, he doesn’t get what Akaashi sees in him. The ace lies there for a few more minutes listing all the reasons he hates Akaashi’s boyfriend when he hears his phone go off.

He feels his stomach flip in anticipation as he digs it out from under the covers and looks at the screen. It’s Akaashi. He feels like a middle school girl with a crush as he takes a breath before unlocking his phone and looking at the text message.

**Akaashi** : Hi Bokuto-san

Bokuto stares blankly at his screen. His friend’s texts are as straightforward as always.  _ What should he say? Ugh, why is this so hard? I should just act natural. _

**Bokuto** : HEY HEY HEY!!!!! Did u need smthn?

**Akaashi** : I just wanted to let you know that we’re playing tomorrow at seven. I forgot to tell you when I saw you yesterday

**Bokuto** : Oh ok np!

The other boy doesn’t respond and Bokuto panics. He doesn’t want the conversation to stop, so he starts randomly typing.

**Bokuto** : Practice was brutal today

**Akaashi** : Oh what happened?

**Bokuto** : I missed a lot of spikes today and the coach yelled at me :(

**Akaashi** : I’m sorry is something bothering you?   
  
Bokuto smiles at that. Akaashi is always looking out for him, and he kind of feels selfish for hogging the attention when he knows Akaashi is the one with something on his mind. Akaashi’s text leaves room for various answers and he kinda wants to say that Yasuo is the one bothering him, but that’s way out of line.

**Bokuto** : Nah just having an off day U

Akaashi doesn’t respond for a while again and it makes Bokuto nervous, but finally he hears the setter’s ringtone.

**Akaashi** : My bf and I got in a fight

Bokuto knows Akaashi’s boyfriend very well at this point, but it hurts seeing it coming from his friend himself.

**Bokuto** : :( I’m sorry wanna talk about it?

**Akaashi** : He’s been acting weird lately like he’s been really distant and kinda possessive? Idk

**Bokuto** : Oh that doesn’t sound good. Are you ok?

**Akaashi** : Yeah, I think we may need to take a break or actually break up I’m not sure. It’s been going on for a while so it’s not like I’m suggesting it because of one fight

This time Bokuto is the one who waits to reply. He really doesn’t know what to do with that news. He feels like a bad person because for some reason he feels relieved and happy to hear that Akaashi and Yasuo’s relationship isn’t working out. He hates Yasuo, but he doesn’t want Akaashi to suffer, the setter deserves better. 

**Bokuto** : I’m sorry it isn’t working out if you think it’s best to take a break then you should

  
**Bokuto** : Trust yourself! :)

**Akaashi** : thanks Bokuto-san

**Bokuto** : NP!

**Akaashi** : I’ve got to go but thank you for the advice

**Bokuto** : I didn’t really do anything but sure!

**Akaashi** : You did though, see you Friday! :)

**Bokuto** : Byeeeee :)

  
  


The ace feels his heart swell at Akaashi’s emoji. He almost never uses them so Bokuto feels an odd sense of excitement for being on the receiving end of one. He’s in a much better mood now. Bokuto glances at his phone clock and sees that it’s about dinner time. He should probably get some food, and then maybe he could practice a little. He’s got to redeem himself from earlier, and it can’t hurt to play well in front of Akaashi on Friday. Yeah, he’ll do that. He can’t wait for tomorrow!

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Akaashi hasn’t been this excited since his last game with Bokuto. He’s finally going to get to play with his partner again. He didn’t really pay attention at all in any of his classes, but then again it’s a Friday, and no one is really that focused during Friday lectures. Nishinoya had sensed his unusual excitement and the two of them ended up only talking about the match during their lunch hour. Kuroo had teased him like he expected, and Iwaizumi was the only one who was actually cool about it. He was a normal amount of excited compared to Oikawa, who had teased and laughed at him yesterday until Akaashi was ready to throw him out of the apartment.

The five of them just finished eating dinner together, like they usually do, and are heading to the gym to set up. Nishinoya is a ball of energy as usual, Iwaizumi and Oikawa are bickering again, and Kuroo is glued to Akaashi’s side. Kuroo elbows Akaashi in the side gently as they walk outside to the gym in the crisp winter air. 

“Are you sure you’re ok with this?” He asks quietly.

Akaashi looks at Kuroo and gives his friend a genuine smile.

  
  
“Yeah. I’ve missed him, and I think this is a good way for us to connect again.”

“Ok just making sure,” Kuroo says back.

His eyes shine in amusement and Akaashi rolls his eyes.

“Please no more teasing, I was ready to throw Oikawa out yesterday.”   
  
“Hey! I wasn’t being  _ that  _ annoying!” The other setter squawks.

“I’m sure he deserved much worse than that,” Iwaizumi says deadpan.

“Iwa-chan! Back me up!”

“No offense Oikawa-san but I’m on Akaashi-san’s side,” Nishinoya laughs.

Oikawa pouts, but that’s nothing new. The small group files into the building and walks to the back of the gym where there’s an empty court open. Kuroo and Akaashi go to the storage closet to get out the volleyball net and Nishinoya comes with them to the volleyballs. Iwaizumi and Oikawa are too busy having another argument, so the three of them leave the couple to it. Akaashi is calmly adjusting the strings of the volleyball net on the right side while Kuroo does the left side when he hears a pair of tennis shoes sprinting down the hall. He gives Kuroo a confused look but the alpha just shrugs.

They don’t have to wait for long though, because a few seconds later Akaashi hears a familiar-

“HEY HEY HEYYYYY!!!!”

And he can’t help the smile that works its way onto his face. Bokuto Koutarou stands at the entrance to the gym with his hands on his hips and a huge grin on his face. He’s got his backpack on and he’s panting a little like he ran all the way here, which he probably did, but he’s still the same Bokuto Akaashi knows. Bokuto’s eyes land on Akaashi first and he bounds over to the setter. Akaashi finishes tying the net and looks into his gold eyes.

“Hi Akaashi!”

“Hi Bokuto-san.”

The ace is practically vibrating in place with how much energy he has. Akaashi nods at him, and then he is suddenly drawn into Bokuto’s side as the alpha slings an arm around his shoulders. Then Bokuto points at Iwaizumi and Oikawa.

“We’re going to win today!” He laughs loudly.

Oikawa scoffs and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. Akaashi hears Kuroo snickering at them and Bokuto shoots his friend a glare.

“Ok then, I guess we should get started,” Kuroo drawls. “Let’s start with Bokuto, Akaashi, and Nishinoya on a team, and Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and me on a team.”

Everyone nods and Bokuto lets go of Akaashi as they each separate into their groups. Nishinoya jogs under the net to join Akaashi’s team on the side closest to the door of the gym. He flashes Akaashi one of his bright smiles and then jumps up as he high-fives Bokuto.

“Let’s goooo!” He yells.

“Hey hey HEYYYY!”

Akaashi is reminded that he is now on a team with two of the loudest people on the planet.

“Alright, enough yelling let’s play.”

“Akaashi I thought you were on my side!” The ace whines.

The setter has to remind himself that he’s supposed to be scolding his friend because he can feel himself start to smile at how nice it is to hear Bokuto say his name again. Bokuto slides off his backpack and throws it against the wall. He’s already got his practice gear on even though it’s almost December, so he was probably cold on the way over, but at least now he’s ready.

“Ok peasants here it comes!” Oikawa shouts from the other side of the net.

The two owls and one crow quickly fall into place as Oikawa tosses the ball up high in front of them and runs to slam it down. As expected, the second-year smashes the ball down, but Nishinoya easily scoops it up towards Akaashi. The setter feels the ball fit easily into his outstretched hands and tosses it up high like he knows Bokuto likes. He watches, green eyes calculating, as the ace runs and leaps into the air, arm pulled back ready to spike.

For some reason, in this exact moment, Akaashi is overcome by the feeling of longing. He missed Bokuto, much more than he would like to admit. Seeing him suspended in the air in all his glory, posed to spike and with a determined look in his eye, is a moment Akaashi will never forget. It’s over in a blink though, as Bokuto’s palm perfectly aligns with the ball and he slams it down harder than Akaashi has even seen him do. 

The ball even blasts right through Iwaizumi and Kuroo’s block. Bokuto lands on his feet and looks over at Akaashi innocently. The setter can hear Oikawa’s team groaning in the back. Kuroo is the most irritating, he probably thought he could shut his best friend down.

“Did you see that Akaashi!?”

  
  
“I did that was very cool. That was a great spike.”

  
  
“I’ve been practicing!” Bokuto exclaims proudly.

“Well it’s paid off,” Akaashi comments softly.

“That was so cool Bokuto-san! I want to receive that spike!” Nishinoya yells energetically.

Bokuto laughs and continues praising himself with his usual sayings like “I really am the best!” Akaashi thinks for a minute that Nishinoya kind of reminds him of Hinata. They’re both super high energy, and the libero is also great at flattering Bokuto just like the small wing spiker.

After Akaashi gets Bokuto and Nishinoya under control, they resume their game without pausing for a while. The teams are well balanced. Iwaizumi is also a strong ace and Akaashi and Oikawa start up their own competition. The two of them end up trying to get dumps in on the other setter whenever possible. Kuroo blocks a couple of Bokuto’s spikes, but they’ve gotten stronger so they’re harder to shut down. Nishinoya comments about wanting to receive Bokuto’s spikes whenever he gets a good one through even though they’re on the same team. 

The six of them end up playing three sets that night. Akaashi’s team wins but Oikawa refuses to accept it, saying that the whole thing was a fluke. They all agree to switch up the teams next week, but the gym is closing soon so they have to leave. They take way longer than necessary to clean up the gym, but it gets done eventually. Cleaning up does not go fast when there are two children, a mean cat, and a bickering couple.

Their group is almost at the front of campus when Kuroo suddenly speaks up.

“We’re going to head back to the apartment, see you there Akaashi!”

Akaashi isn’t sure whether to hit or thank Kuroo for allowing him to have alone time with Bokuto. He decides to go for a neutral reaction and simply nods as the remaining four walk off. Akaashi accompanies Bokuto all the way to the front gate, and surprisingly their walk is silent but in a peaceful way. Bokuto’s eyes are wandering all over the place like he does when he’s nervous and Akaashi finds it kind of endearing.

They stop at the front of the school and Bokuto abruptly turns to face the setter.

“Is something wrong Bokuto-san?”

“No, just um, it was nice playing with you again Akaashi!” He says happily.

“Yeah, I missed playing with you. Would you want to play with us on Fridays? As long as you aren’t busy, if you have practice than I understand.”

  
  
“I would love to! It’s way more fun than my actual practice anyway. If we play in the evenings or at night than I can come!”

“Ok. I guess I’ll see you next week? That’s the Friday right before winter break so that might be the last time we play for a while.”

  
  
“Why? Are you going somewhere for break? You never went before.”

  
  
“Yeah. My mom wants us to visit my grandmother for the break so I’ll only be at my house for two days.”

  
  
“Oh.”

  
  
“I’m sorry.”

  
  
“It’s ok! I’m just sad that we won’t get to hang out at your house like we used to during break, but that’s ok! I’ll see you next week and when we come back.”

  
  
“I’m sorry this doesn’t usually happen.”

  
  
“It’s fine really! I’ll see you next week anyway, just promise you’ll text me when you get back from your grandma’s.”

  
  
“I will.”

  
  
Akaashi smiles and Bokuto gazes back at him warmly. The ace stares at him for another moment before waving goodbye and heading back down the street to his school. Akaashi feels warm despite the cool air and chilly breeze. He silently walks back to his apartment feeling happier than ever. He supposes that he really does need Bokuto in his life.

  
  



	3. Confrontations and Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! The language and violence are not that severe in this chapter, but I wanted to put a warning just in case.

Finals week sucks the soul out of everyone like the setter predicted. Nishinoya and the setter study for their biology exam together almost all weekend. The libero has a hard time focusing, but he understands the concepts and the two of them eventually complete a successful study session. Kuroo and Akaashi glance over the material for their gym class maybe once. It’s not that hard so he’s not too worried about it. Iwaizumi ends up being an excellent study partner. He has great focus and the two of them can bounce ideas off of each other. They have to write a final paper for History, and the rubric is way too detailed, but at least they can support each other. Their teacher is also excessively tough and the two of them haven’t really liked him since the beginning of the semester. Oikawa and Akaashi don’t share any classes, but they talk about what they are studying for and what they are working on whenever they aren’t busy studying and none of their friends are in their apartment. They all work hard, and by the time Friday rolls around, all of them are ready to be done.

They won’t know their grades until next week, but Akaashi hopes they all did well. He’s glad that finals are over, but he’s also not really looking forward to break. He’ll miss his friends, he got close with all of them this semester and it will be weird not seeing them every day. It will be weird not having Oikawa in his business twenty-four-seven, not having Kuroo trying to provoke him, not having Nishinoya’s enthusiasm during their dull biology class and lunch, and not having Iwaizumi there to back him up and control his boyfriend. He’s also not looking forward to having to go to his grandmother’s house for almost the entire break. He was hoping he would get to hang out with Bokuto a little like they used to but guess not.

Kuroo and Akaashi are busy setting up the gym for their usual Friday match, but the atmosphere seems to lack the energy it had last time. They are the only two there because their other three friends were busy and Bokuto just left his school, so they were going to be late. Kuroo tries to watch the setter as inconspicuously as possible as they set up. He noticed that Akaashi was more quiet than usual, which is saying something, and that he almost seemed down.

The setter rarely put his emotions on display, so it was hard to tell what he was feeling, but being around him during the training camps and all this year gave the captain some clues. When he was anxious, Akaashi fidgeted with his hands a lot. When he was irritated he tended to be more snarky, and on the rare occasions that he was sad the setter retreated back into his shell and spaced out often.

Kuroo didn’t usually pay attention to any of his friend’s scents that much, their secondary genders usually took a backseat to their everyday lives. They hadn’t had any problems with it before so it was simply just a fact, existing in the background. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t know everyone’s scent. He did know, and he also noticed whenever one of their scents would change, like now. Akaashi’s usual mildly sweet vanilla scent is mixed with the scent of rain, and the kind of rain that happens on a gloomy day and dampens your mood. Akaashi’s scent has never been that strong like omega scents usually are, and Kuroo thinks it’s probably due to the fact that the other boy takes suppressants.

He learned that during the training camp when Akaashi was a first year. He had seen him taking one of his pills in the bathroom one night and when he asked what they were, Akaashi had told him. Of course, Kuroo instantly felt bad after that, but once Akaashi explained his reasoning and that he didn’t mind talking about it, everything was fine. Now he’s able to tell if omegas are on suppressants or not. When he met Oikawa last year he immediately was able to tell that the omega was taking them, but his Jasmine scent was still there, albeit much weaker.

Despite Akaashi’s scent not being as strong, Kuroo can still sense when it changes. His scent only ever takes on the hint of rain when he’s feeling down. Kuroo’s not sure what happened that caused his friend’s mood to drop, but he does know that he wants to fix it. The middle blocker finishes tying the volleyball net on his side and waits patiently as Akaashi does his side. When he’s done, Kuroo calmly walks over to the omega and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Akaashi seems to come out of whatever daze he was in and looks up at Kuroo surprised. It’s kind of cute. He looks so innocent with his soft, messy black curls, curious green eyes, and the jacket that’s too big for him. The sleeves go way past the setter’s long hands.

“Everything ok? You seem kinda down today,” Kuroo notes gently.

Akaashi tilts his head to the side in confusion, but then his lips curl up into a small smile.

“I’m not used to you being nice to me, it’s a little strange.”

“Hey! I’m always nice!”

  
  
The middle blocker takes his hand off Akaashi’s shoulder and uses it to playfully swat the omega’s arm. Akaashi’s smile turns into a grimace as he sighs and goes back to staring at the floor.

“For the break I have to go visit my grandma, not that she’s bad or anything, but we’re not that close. I’m not really that close to many people,” Akaashi admits.

Kuroo frowns, he thinks he knows where this is going.

“I love my family, but we’re all kind of distant? My mom and dad both work so they aren’t home much, they leave it up to me to be responsible. I used to be home a lot by myself, but then in high school I met Bokuto and he was almost always over or I was at his house. Sometimes the whole team would be there. Anyway, you know that I’m not really a very expressive person, well, I get it from them. We’re all kind of stoic so it feels too quiet and lonely I guess when I go home.”

The setter has started anxiously wringing his hands, so Kuroo knows it was probably difficult for him to admi that. The alpha quietly steps closer and envelopes the younger boy in a hug. He hopes that Akaashi doesn’t reject the hug. He hopes they’ve reached that level of friendship where the omega won’t be totally weirded out that he’s suddenly hugging him. Akaashi makes a noise of surprise, but then he relaxes into the embrace after a second. Kuroo can smell as the gloomy rain smell starts to dissipate from his scent and he smiles to himself. 

Unfortunately, that’s when the ace decides to show up. Bokuto’s the first one in, and when he sees Kuroo holding Akaashi he seems to just freeze. The ace’s expression is one of pure shock laced with a little bit of jealousy, and Kuroo can’t resist. He looks over Akaashi’s head and winks at his best friend as he slightly rubs his face over the top of the omega’s head to subtly scent mark him. 

Bokuto clenches his fists and it looks like he’s trying to murder Kuroo with his eyes. The alpha feels Akaashi starting to get squeamish and he tries to back out of the hug. Kuroo releases him and watches in amusement as the setter gives him a look that says  _ what was that for?  _ It’s quite comical the way Akaashi turns around and spots Bokuto and then is hit by the realization of what Kuroo did. He spins back around and hits Kuroo in the arm. Akaashi knows that Kuroo scent marked him to rile Bokuto up and he’ll probably be mad at Kuroo for a while, but Kuroo thinks it was worth it.

Bokuto makes sure to stick by Akaashi’s side after the setter walks away from Kuroo, annoyed. The rest of their friends show up a minute later and Kuroo sees on their faces the instant they catch a whiff of the smell inside the gym. Oikawa’s gaze immediately snaps over to Bokuto and Akaashi, he can definitely smell the possessive hint in Bokuto’s scent and the bitter edge in Akaashi’s from irritation at Kuroo. He smirks but otherwise doesn’t say anything. Iwaizumi’s eyebrows go up in surprise when he enters the gym behind Oikawa, but he doesn’t say anything either. Nishinoya bounds in behind Iwaizumi and he looks puzzled for a moment before laughing once he sees the way Bokuto is hovering over Akaashi. 

“Alright, someone go get a volleyball it’s time to play!” Kuroo announces.

“You were here way before us, how long does it take to set up?” Nishinoya accuses.

“We set up the net, the least you could do is get a ball.”

“That’s a lame excuse,” the libero mumbles but he goes over to the storage closet to get out the basket of balls anyway.

He returns a moment later and Kuroo starts dividing up the teams. This time, Akaashi is on a team with Kuroo and Nishinoya again, which Bokuto does not seem to be happy about. He pouts when Kuroo tells him that he’s not with Akaashi this time. It's a little funny, but Akaashi also feels a little bad. He knows that Bokuto’s still a little irritated by what Kuroo did earlier so he thought maybe being on the same team would help. He can talk to the ace later though.

Bokuto’s team starts with the ball and Akaashi tries not to laugh when Bokuto purposely aims his serve at Kuroo. It’s definitely one of the most memorable matches. Bokuto is mad at Kuroo the whole time and Kuroo loves provoking the ace, so that turns out to be quite the competition. The rest of them play relatively calmly like usual, but the two best friends are the center of attention that night. During the match, he also caught Oikawa eying him mischievously multiple times. The match ends with Bokuto’s team being victorious, but he doesn’t gloat like he usually does. Instead, the ace actually seems to be even more irritated. Oikawa is the one who ends up gloating and Iwaizumi and Nishinoya have to break up another quarrel between the setter and Kuroo.

Akaashi sighs as he starts taking down the volleyball net. He feels Bokuto’s intense gaze on him, but he chooses to ignore it until his portion of clean up is complete, the others can do the rest. The first year calmly walks over to the side of the gym where Bokuto is sitting against the wall aggressively drinking from his water bottle. He’s staring at the hard floor and doesn’t even bat an eyelash when Akaashi sits down next to him.

The omega lets out a quiet puff of amusement at his friend. He’s clearly still pouting, but now it’s more comparable to the anger of a small dog than the anger of an upset alpha. Akaashi lightly bumps his knee into the ace’s.

“Bokuto-san, you did really well today. I was impressed.”

Bokuto doesn’t say anything, but he does raise his head to meet Akaashi’s green eyes.

“All your serves were very powerful, but I think Kuroo-san’s arms are going to be sore tomorrow.”

“-deserved it,” the ace mumbles.

“What?”

  
  
“He totally deserved it though,” Bokuto repeats more clearly. 

Akaashi knows why Bokuto is mad, but he wants to hear it from the ace himself. He supposes that a part of him is kind of evil.

“Why are you so angry?” The setter asks innocently.

Bokuto groans and pulls at his hair a little before turning his whole body to face Akaashi. The omega is caught off guard by his sudden movement and whips his head back to front so he doesn’t have to look the other in the eyes, but Bokuto persists forward. He plants his hands on the ground right by Akaashi’s thighs and leans forward so he can whisper in Akaashi’s ear. The setter doesn’t dare turn his head if he does he’ll know he’ll end up only mere centimeters away from his friend.

Bokuto’s voice is unusually quiet in his ear, but it’s also laced with lingering anger.

“Why did you let Kuroo scent you?”

Akaashi feels the tips of his ears turn red, and he desperately hopes Bokuto doesn’t notice. He’s impressed with himself when he manages to keep his voice steady as he replies.

“I didn’t know he was going to do that. He was just giving me a hug and then he suddenly scented me out of the blue, but we’re friends so it’s not that weird. Friends do that with each other.” 

Akaashi can’t see the older boy, but he feels when he abruptly leans back to a normal sitting position. He’s worried that Bokuto is mad at him now, but when he glances to his right he sees Bokuto picking up his jacket that he left against the wall earlier. 

“What are you doing Bokuto-san?”

The alpha brings Akaashi’s jacket up to his face, and then calmly rubs his scent all over it. The omega can only watch in genuine shock and also with a little bit of embarrassment until the alpha is done. Bokuto holds Akaashi’s jacket out in front of them for the younger boy to take once he’s finished. 

“You said it’s normal for friends to scent each other, so is this ok?” 

Bokuto’s looking at him with such wide, innocent, and hopeful eyes that Akaashi can’t help but smile. He gently takes his jacket back from Bokuto and smoothly slips back into it. Bokuto's cinnamon and apple scent is clearly on the piece of clothing, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s there, but it’s subtle and Akaashi finds himself wondering why. With the way the alpha was acting earlier, Akaashi thought his jacket would reek of the other boy’s scent when he was done scenting it.

The omega gives Bokuto a curious glance.

“I’m fine with you scenting my stuff. Also, I’m not mad, but why did you barely scent it. I thought you would have done more,” Akaashi comments. 

Bokuto’s face suddenly takes on a sheepish look and he rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“Oh um, I know you have a boyfriend and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea so…” the ace trails off.

Akaashi feels something in his heart clench painfully. He’s touched by Bokuto’s consideration, but he also feels guilty that he’s letting this happen. He should be more loyal to Yasuo even if they are fighting, and he should definitely not be wishing all his things smelled like Bokuto. 

The setter maintains eye contact with his friend as he tries to formulate a response, but he’s interrupted by Oikawa. His fellow omega walks up to the pair with a hand on his hip and an evil glint in his eye.

“Let’s go, slowpokes! I need to pack for tomorrow because I’m not about to stay here for the entire break.”

  
  
“LET’S GO WINTER BREAAAAAAAAK!” Nishinoya yells. 

Bokuto is on his feet a second later joining in the libero’s shouting party and Akaashi covers his ears.

“HEY HEY HEYYYYYYY!”

Oikawa smiles at him and the evil shine in his eyes is replaced by genuine happiness. He offers a hand to the younger setter and Akaashi gladly takes it after uncovering his ears. His roommate pulls him to his feet and then slaps him on the back.

“Today was an interesting match Kei-chan! I’m glad you’ve started inviting Bo-chan, it makes things more even, but mostly it’s more entertaining!” The setter laughs.

“I’m glad you think so Oikawa-san,” Akaashi replies monotone.

“Oh come on Kei-chan! You’re no fun. Anyway, are you doing anything for break?”

  
  
“I’m going to visit my grandma.”

  
  
“For the whole break?”

  
  
“Yeah,” Akaashi replies quietly.

Oikawa pouts at him, but when he realizes Akaashi’s answer was more upset than snarky he gives him a concerned look.

“Will you be ok?”

“Yeah. It’s not too bad.”

  
  
“Are you sure? I mean, you could stay with me and Iwa-chan!”

  
  
“No it’s ok, I don’t want to intrude and my parents would be angry if I didn’t go.”

Akaashi looks past Oikawa at Nishinoya, Bokuto, and Kuroo making a fool out of themselves while Iwaizumi watches it unfold. The sight brightens his mood a little bit, but only a little. He looks back at Oikawa and nods at him.

“Thank you for the offer Oikawa-san, but I’ll be fine.”   
  
Oikawa looks like he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t. A moment later the rest of their friend group joins them, and they begin their trek back to the apartments. At the front of the school, Akaashi’s friends drop back and let him say goodbye to Bokuto alone. Bokuto makes Akaashi promise to text him if he’s bored or if something goes wrong before wrapping him up in a tentative hug and running off. Kuroo, Oikawa, and Nishinoya tease him about it the whole way back and Iwaizumi gives him a sympathetic look.

His friends can be really annoying. They get on his nerves a lot and like to pester him, but they’re all great people and he really will miss them over break. After he packs, he’ll just have one last thing to do before leaving, and that’s talking to Yasuo.

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


Akaashi’s first day of break was as fast as it was uneventful. His parents welcomed him home that morning, but after that, they all just drifted off to do their own thing. It wasn’t bad, but it was different. He’s almost forgotten how silent his house was since he’s used to being around all his extroverted friends all the time. He spent the whole day just lazing about in his room. He played on his phone and watched videos for a few hours, and it was relaxing for a little bit, but then he just felt unproductive. He felt like he was missing something. Dinner later that night was normal, quiet and respectful. 

Akaashi’s parents asked him about school, mainly his academics, and he told them he did well in all his classes. They nodded carefully like they didn’t get him to receive anything less. Their conversation lasted for a solid twenty minutes before they lapsed into silence again while they ate their food. His mom reminds him to pack because they are leaving tomorrow night, and then she asks him if he has any plans. He calmly tells her that he needs to discuss something with his boyfriend tomorrow. His mom just shrugs and tells him to back by six. 

The setter remembers when he first told his parents he had a boyfriend. He thought they would finally freak out on him after years of saying out of his personal life. They never felt the desire to be super involved in their son’s life outside of school. They assumed he could figure that out on their own. After years of saying nothing, Akaashi was afraid they would suddenly blow up on him and kick him out of the house, but his parents had just shared a glance with each other at the dinner table that night and told him to be responsible. He didn’t really know what that meant, but their apathetic response had been better than what he expected, so he took it. His parents met Yasuo a couple of times last year, and afterwards, they told Akaashi that he was a nice boy.

They know he’s an alpha, so his mom tells him to be responsible, whatever that means, but that’s all the advice he’s gotten. He would tell his parents about his current situation with his boyfriend, but he doesn’t think they’d really care that much, so he keeps it to himself. The three of them cleaned up the table and then retreated to separate parts of the house as per usual after dinner.

Akaashi ended up mindlessly watching videos again to try and distract himself from getting too anxious about talking with Yasuo the next day. He went to bed last night feeling hollow and worried about the next afternoon anyway.

He’s currently sitting at their dining table alone eating lunch. His parents both had something to do that morning so they left early. They told him they’d be back around five and that he should be ready to leave by six. Akaashi finishes up the last of his noodles before picking up his phone and checking his texts. He texted Yasuo yesterday to let him know he was coming over and his boyfriend actually seemed pretty calm about it. He even apologized for earlier and said that he wanted to sort things out too, which helped ease Akaashi’s anxiety a little bit.

The omega takes another minute to down his water before sliding out of his chair and going to put his dishes in the kitchen. Akaashi dips back to his room upstairs quickly to grab a jacket and then goes back to the dining room to grab his phone. He shoves it in his jacket pocket and then heads to the front door. His favorite navy blue tennis shoes are lined up perfectly by the door, probably due to his mom, and he lips them on silently. The house keys are in their usual place, hanging on the second hook on the wall by the door. 

Akaashi shoves the hose keys into his other unoccupied pocket and then locks the door behind him. It’s cold outside, and he probably should have worn more layers because it’s winter, but Yasuo only lives two blocks away from him so it should be fine. Akaashi can see his breath in the air it’s so cold. Despite the biting air, his walk is actually quite relaxing. He always feels freer when he’s outside. 

He arrives at his boyfriend’s house in five minutes and walks through the gate to the front door. Yasuo’s house is not unfamiliar to him, he’s visited before, but now it seems to have an eerie aura about it. Akaashi hesitates for a moment before knocking lightly on the door. When no one answers, he assumes he didn’t knock hard enough and goes to knock again, but then Yasuo suddenly flings open the door.

Akaashi stares at his boyfriend in complete shock. His black hair is sticking out all over the place, he obviously just threw on some clothes because they don’t match, and his eyes are wild. Yasuo stares back at Akaashi for a second before roughly reaching down to grab his wrist and pull him inside. The door shuts with an audible click and part of Akaashi’s brain is telling him that’s not good.

Yasuo pulls the setter down to his bedroom at the end of the hallway and shuts his door once they’re inside. He lets go of Akaashi’s wrist only to place it on the other boy’s shoulder to force him to sit down on the bed. 

  
  
“Yasuo what’s wrong?”

The alpha abruptly turns his back to Akaashi and starts running a hand through his hair and sighing frustratedly. The omega takes a quick glance at the room while Yasuo has some kind of tantrum. His bedroom is as pristine as always. All his books are stacked neatly, his bed is made, and his desk is organized just the way he likes it. Nothing seems out of place since Akaashi last saw it. He sweeps his gaze back to his boyfriend and watches worriedly, and maybe a little fearfully, as Yasuo stiffly turns around and goes to sit in his chair at his desk. 

His deep brown eyes that Akaashi used to love have now turned stormy and cold. He stares back at Akaashi like he’s looking for answers before eventually speaking up.

“I knew something was wrong the second you stepped on my property,” Yasuo murmurs thoughtfully.

“What?”

  
  
“I could smell you when you approached the gate, but it wasn’t just your scent.”

  
  
Akaashi feels something cold settle in his stomach. He knows exactly where this conversation is going, but he also doesn’t want it to be true. He was careless this morning and took the jacket that Bokuto scented the other day. He didn’t think Yasuo would be able to smell it, he underestimated his boyfriend’s sense of smell and apparently his level of possessiveness. He never thought this would be a problem, but he still feels a little guilty because he definitely should have known and he definitely should have been more loyal. 

“I’m sorry,” Akaashi answers genuinely. 

Yasuo is momentarily thrown off by his reply, but his eyes go dark again.

“So you’re not even denying it huh? You admit that you were flirting with another guy while you’re dating me?”

_ Ok, that was slightly uncalled for. He was not flirting with Bokuto. _

“I wasn’t flirting with him.”

  
  
“Then why does your jacket smell like him? 

It’s a loaded question. No matter what he says, Yasuo will find a flaw. He definitely can’t say that it’s a normal thing for friends to scent each other or their things because that would make him even angrier. He hopes that not answering will work. It doesn’t.

“Don’t ignore me! I thought you came here to patch things up! But here you are, sitting in  _ my  _ room reeking of other alphas!” Yasuo accuses.

He jumps up from his chair, tipping it over, and stalks over to Akaashi, who has gotten off the bed and is standing close to the wall of the back of the room. Akaashi’s heart is pounding out of fear and anger, and he can feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He needs to think of a way out in case things escalate. Luckily, he remembers that the door doesn’t have a lock, so if he can get to the door he can get out of the house.

The setter stands his ground as Yasuo stops a few inches away from him. The alpha is breathing heavily and Akaashi can smell the angry pheromones the other is releasing. It’s making his inner omega want to submit and obey, but he tries hard to squash the feeling.

“What are you accusing me of?” Akaashi whispers fiercely.

Yasuo scoffs and steps in closer to leer over the shorter boy.

“Being a whore,” he spits back.

Akaashi’s blood boils and he clenches his fists to keep from actually punching the other in the face. The pheromones in the room are out of control. Yasuo’s aggressive and angry ones are mixing with Akaashi’s upset and furious ones. The smell is as toxic as the conversation.

Yasuo steps back a little bit, and he suddenly smiles maliciously.

“Were you not satisfied enough with this relationship? Is that why you went behind my back with other alphas? I knew you had feelings for that lame captain of yours, but I dated you anyway because I thought it might be fun. You’re such a pretty little thing and that captain of yours just looked so fun to mess with, so I thought why not? Turns out I was right. When I told him to back off he easily compiled once I told him how easy it would be for me to hurt you. He’s really quite a coward,” Yasuo teases happily.

Akaashi thought he was mad before, but this takes the cake. He has never felt such pure rage in his life, and it kind of terrifies him. He rarely shows that much emotion, so he isn’t quite sure what to do, but there is one thing he is one hundred percent sure of.

“I didn’t realize you were such a manipulative piece of trash. In case you didn’t get the hint, we’re over.”

“Oh, how ironic. I’m the manipulative one? You used me to get over that spikey haired alpha Bokuto. You have no right to say that to me, especially after you flirted with not only him, but some other guy too while dating me. Oh yeah, I could smell him too. I can smell all the scents of your  _ friends,”  _ the alpha spits.

Akaashi pushes off the wall and moves towards the door, but Yasuo effortlessly grabs him by the waist and throws him back against the wood panels. The alpha seizes his chance while the omega is winded and harshly grabs onto both of his biceps. He gives the omega a once over and grins evilly again.

“What a shame. You really are very pretty you know. But, I’m done with you, try not to sleep around too much Keiji. You’ve already broken too many hearts.”   
  
Akaashi was ready for an insulting comment, but he was not ready for the slap that followed it. Yasuo had used the back of his hand to slap him, and it hadn’t been a haphazard strike at all. That was meant to do some damage. It had caused his head to be whipped to the side so quickly that he felt it in his neck. Akaashi slowly turns his head back to the front to face Yasuo and uses both his hands to shove the alpha back. 

Yasuo trips over a stray cord and falls flat onto his back. Akaashi tries to dodge him as he makes a break for the door but Yasuo reaches out and grabs his ankle. The omega stumbles and lands on his knee pretty hard, but he immediately tries to wriggle out of the stronger boy’s grasp. He manages to stand up before Yasuo does and swipes the lamp off the desk. He knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to escape yet, so he looked for the closest weapon.

Yasuo notes the defensive way Akaashi is holding the lamp and the determination in his eyes. He backs off a little from the omega and holds his hands up in surrender.

“Awwww Keiji I’m hurt. You would really hit me with my own lamp?”

“Yes, in a heartbeat. Now back off,” he warns seriously.

  
Akaashi has never growled in his life, mainly because he’s never needed to. However, he’s had many firsts today so this wouldn’t be the most surprising thing. When Yasuo tries to reach for him he snarls viciously. Obviously, the alpha was not expecting that, and Akaashi takes his chance to throw the lamp at his face and rip open the door to flee the room.

He doesn’t even bother to check if Yasuo is chasing him, he just focuses on getting out as fast as possible. He doesn’t hear footsteps behind him, but he does hear Yasuo cursing madly until he’s too far away from the house to hear anything. Akaashi runs until he’s back in the safety of his room. He makes sure to lock his own bedroom door before collapsing against it. He’s still high on the adrenaline, but he’s aware enough to still be able to process what just happened. 

Essentially, he dated a devil for an entire year. The only relationship he’s ever had was a lie, he got called a whore for the first time, and he hit someone on purpose for the first time. His cheek stings, but it doesn’t hurt as much as Yasuo’s words. He doesn’t want to admit it, but his words got to the setter.

The omega closes his eyes and shifts his position so he’s laying on his back and looking at the ceiling. He holds a hand in front of his face and realizes that he’s shaking. It’s probably because of all the pheromones. Sometimes he really hates his subgender. It’s not often that he’s reminded of it, but it does happen. Akaashi lets his arm fall limply back to his side. He needs to calm down before his parents get home. There’s no way they would miss his slightly distressed and furious scent. He does not want to talk about what just happened. The best he can do right now is try to relax and pray that his scent evens out, then he needs to pack.

He’s going to go on this vacation and act like nothing happened. He’ll just tell his parents that the two of them broke up, it’s not exactly wrong. Even is he did tell the truth, his parents probably wouldn’t care anyway.

  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Akaashi’s plan ends up working, and he’s not sure whether to be happy about that or not. Luckily, his scent had evened out and he managed to pull himself together before his parents came home. They left the house soon after his parents returned and drove the six hours to his grandmother’s.

Even though he’s at his grandmother’s, everything still feels the same. There’s good conversations for about the first few minutes of a meal, and then it lapses into silence. Normally, he wouldn’t care, but the silence has allowed him to be in his head too much trapped with his thoughts. He doesn’t have to share a room with his parents like he thought he would, and it’s both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, he does not want to be trapped with his parents for the entire three weeks for various, but on the other hand, he’s not sure he wants to be alone that often.

About the fifth day into the first week, Akaashi starts to feel a weird fatigue start to take over as well as other odd things. He wakes up that day feeling like he hasn’t slept in years, and his hands feel tingly. He starts taking long naps every day, but no one really notices because they just assume he’s on his phone doing his own thing in his room. The fatigue doesn’t seem to go away no matter what he does. He finds himself avoiding touch from anyone along with the extreme tiredness. It’s not exactly that hard, because his family has never been touchy-feely, but when he accidentally brushes hands with anyone it sends a sharp jolt up his arm. He learns to keep his distance after the first incident.

His family starts to notice his odd behavior in the second week of break. They try to give him space because they think he’s just being moody and needs time. He also ends up being a little too snarky with his mom a couple of times. It seems like everything sets him off recently. He doesn’t like the silence, but he also doesn’t like going out on family outings, he doesn’t want to join the others for meals, but he doesn’t want to be alone.

It’s the Saturday before the third week of the break when his mom finally talks to him about it. His father and grandmother went out to do something together per his mom’s suggestion. His father had gotten the hint at the table when she said it would be good for him to bond with his mother while she bonded with her son.

Akaashi’s mother leads him into the living room and has him sit on the sofa while she sits in the chair adjacent from it. She turns to face her son calmly and tucks her long, curly black hair behind her ears. Her eyes are calculating like Akaashi’s usually are. Once she finishes analyzing him, she makes sure Akaashi looks her in the face.

“Keiji,” she says softly but firmly. “What’s been going on with you? You’ve been acting very strange these past few days. If you need space, then just say so.”

“Everything’s fine. I’ve just been thinking about a lot of things, I’m sorry I took it out on everyone.”

  
  
“Do you want to talk about what’s been on your mind?

  
  
He was not expecting that. He’s never had a heartfelt conversation with his mom before.  _ Does he want to tell her what happened? No, not really, but he will tell her part of it so his behavior makes some sense. _

“Yasuo and I broke up,” he decides to say calmly.

His mother looks perplexed.

“Really? Well, I’m sorry it didn’t work out, maybe it wasn’t meant to be. You’ll find someone else.”

  
  
“Yeah.”

He’s kind of surprised by his mother’s semi compassionate reaction. The two of them fall into an awkward silence after that though. He anxiously starts playing with his fingers as he wonders why they’re still just sitting here saying nothing until his mom clears her throat. He looks up and meets her timid gaze, she looks hesitant. That’s extremely rare, what could she be thinking about?

“Keiji, I got an email from your doctor about your suppressants,” the beta woman explains delicately.

Oh, now it makes sense. They rarely talk about his suppressants so she’s probably a little uncomfortable. This means they’re probably going to have to talk about his heat too which he is not looking forward too.

“What did he say?”

  
  
“He said that you’re going to have to have a heat soon so your body can recover from the suppressants for so long. He said to let him know what you decide.”

  
  
“Oh.”

  
  
“Do you have a preference?”

  
  
“Well, I would rather not have it while I’m at school, and I guess I can’t wait until summer, so I guess I’ll have to do it before the break is over. When do we get back home?”

  
  
“The day before you have to go back to school. I don’t think that’s enough time. Would you be comfortable having it here? Of course, we would make sure to not be around a whole lot during that time, or you could go home early?” His mother suggests nervously.

“Go home early,” he quickly replies.

His mother laughs at his fast response and shoots him a fond smile. Akaashi is suddenly hit by the overwhelming desire to want to be held by her. It’s never happened before and he is taken aback by how fast it overtook him, however, when his mom gets up to go the kitchen she gently squeezes his shoulder. That movement should have helped lessen his desire to want to be hugged, but it actually felt like he’d been burnt. He masks his pain well though, and his mother doesn’t notice. He holds his breath until she’s disappeared into the kitchen before letting out a strained breath.

What just happened? The pain was short and intense, but he’s never experienced something like that before. He’d been getting small shocks from coming into contact with others recently, but he hadn’t felt pain like that until now. Akaashi quietly retreats to his room after that and tries to wrap his brain around what’s wrong. He eventually comes to the conclusion that it’s a side effect of him being on suppressants for too long and decides to avoid touching anyone until he’s had his heat.

Akaashi’s mother informs her husband and mother in law of their plan and they make arrangements for him to go back early at the dinner table that night. He stops taking suppressants that day so that he can have his heat that week. Akaashi apologizes for having to leave early, but his grandmother just waves him off. She tells him that it was just nice to see him for a little bit and that he shouldn’t worry about it. That Monday, Akaashi’s mom drives the six hours back to the house and makes sure her son has everything he needs before she goes back.

“I know you know how to handle this, you’ve always been responsible, but don’t hesitate to call us if you need something!” His mom nags.

Akaashi rolls his eyes, but it’s more endeared than anything. It’s a little odd to have his mom dote on him when she’s never done it before he doesn’t question it. Something clearly changed for the better. It’s actually kind of nice to know that his parents do care.

Being in the house alone is a strange feeling. He spends Tuesday just lazing about the house like he did during the first part of break. He’s productive for maybe two hours when he actually makes himself a nest and prepares supplies so he’s ready when his heat comes. After that, he uses his speakers to watch videos for a little bit because no one is there to tell him that it’s too loud. He’s eating ramen for dinner on Tuesday when he feels a sharp pain in his stomach. It’s almost like he’s being stabbed, but it ends just as fast as it came on.

Cramping is one of his symptoms, but usually, they’re longer and not as intense. He doesn’t want to risk anything though and finishes his dinner quickly so he can go to his room. In the back of his mind, he’s starting to get mildly concerned.  _ What if all his cramps are like that? He doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle the pain. What if it’s worse than his first heat?  _

Akaashi tries to distract himself by watching volleyball videos as he curls up in his nest. He can feel his body heat start to rise and he knows it’s coming. Half an hour later, he’s full-on sweating, needy, and the pain is back with a vengeance. He knows the second the intense cramps come back that this heat is going to rough. It’s already worse than his first one and he just hopes he can handle the pain.

The omega flips onto his stomach, closes his eyes, and tries to control his breathing. It helps him cope for a little bit, but he can still feel the stabbing in the lower part of his stomach. He tries all sorts of positions but nothing helps. Even though he already feels exhausted, he’s so desperate for relief he drags himself to the bathroom. He prays that hot water will help. He’s quite aware that he’s already hot enough, but he has to do something about the cramps. 

Akaashi manages to turn the water on with shaky hands and sits in the bathtub curled up while the water runs over him. Somewhere in his hazed mind, he recognizes that something is wrong. There is no way that this is normal, but he doesn’t know what else to do. He’s pretty sure that this is a side effect from taking suppressants for so long, and that means he can’t do anything until his heat is over.

The hot bath does end up helping quell some of the pain for a few hours. It’s dark outside when he finally gets back to his nest and he ends up falling asleep rather quickly. His body is begging for an alpha and he feels the strong arousal like he usually does, but this time those symptoms of his heat are not as prevalent as the pain. The pain is always at the forefront of his mind, he’s the most concerned about it, and coupled with the other symptoms, it’s a lot for him to handle.

He barely makes it through the first day. By midday on Wednesday he wants to cry out of frustration. He feels horrible. This is by far his worst heat ever. He can’t get any release, he feels like he’s overheating, and he wants to rip out his stomach. He also wasn’t able to sleep at all. He thought the fatigue he was feeling at his grandmother's was bad, but now he just wants to pass out, but he can’t. His body won’t let him rest even for a second. Akaashi wonders if he should call his parents it’s that bad. He strongly considers it, but he ends up doing nothing in the end.

He doesn’t know how, but he ends up surviving Wednesday alone too. Wednesday was almost as intense as the first day, but he could tell that the pain was starting to lighten up. He manages to drink some water when he’s not busy grinding into something or coping with the multiple knives stabbing his stomach.

Thursday goes about the same as Wednesday, but by Friday he starts to feel better and his heat feels more normal. The pain is still there, but he no longer feels like he needs to go to the hospital anymore, and he’s back to mainly suffering from not being able to satisfy his excessive arousal. He tries not to think about the fact that an alpha could easily help him, because that will just lead him to thinking about Bokuto and he doesn’t think he could live with that embarrassment. 

On Saturday, his heat gradually fades away and he finally realizes how much it has drained him. Akaashi chugs the last water bottle and eats some of the snacks he brought up on Tuesday. He’ll need to eat more later to replenish his energy, but he’s exhausted. He needs to get some sleep  _ now _ . In the end, he falls asleep worrying how he’s going to pull himself together for school in two days at the front of his mind.


	4. Recovery

Nishinoya races across campus to get to his biology class. This time, he’s not just running because he’s late. He is cutting it close like usual, but he’s mainly just excited to see Akaashi again. He missed his quiet friend. He texted Akaashi a couple of times over break, but the setter didn’t respond. He texted his other friends if they had heard from him, but they also said no. The libero just assumed that maybe Akaashi was busy, so that’s why he’s even more excited to see him. It feels like they haven’t seen each other in ages. Nishinoya arrives at his classroom in record time and bursts through the door. He immediately goes to take his usual seat in the third row next to Akaashi when he sees the omega’s state. Akaashi is typically on his phone or jotting something down when Nishinoya gets there, but today he has one arm laid across the table and he’s resting his head on it.

The libero cautiously approaches the setter and takes a seat next to him. He takes a second to really get a good look at his friend. Akaashi looks dreadful. There are dark bags under his eyes, his hair is super messy, and his cheeks look kind of flushed.  _ Is he sick?  _ Now that he’s really thinking about it, Akaashi’s scent is also different. His usual stable vanilla scent is tinged with something slightly sour. It’s also much stronger than usual. Nishinoya can only really smell his friend's scent when he’s close to him, and now that he’s sitting right next to his friend it’s almost like he sprayed too much perfume on. It’s almost to the point that Nishinoya would say it’s sickeningly sweet.

He’s not really sure what to make of all his observations, but he does want to check on Akaashi. The libero reaches out and gently places a hand on Akaashi’s shoulder. The omega jolts awake and yanks his shoulder back as if he was burned and nearly falls out of his chair. Luckily, he has fast reflexes and is able to catch himself, but his extreme reaction worries the other first year.

Akaashi’s eyes focus on Nishinoya a second later, but they’re a little cloudy. He gives his friend a weak smile, however, the younger omega isn’t buying it.

“Ah, Nishinoya-san I didn’t hear you come in.”

  
  
“Akaashi-san! You look horrible, what happened? Are you sick?” Nishinoya asks a little too loudly.

The setter flinches a little.

“No, I’m ok.”

  
  
“BS,” the omega instantly accuses. “You are not ok. Just look at yourself!”

“Wow thanks,” is Akaashi’s snarky response.

Nishinoya frowns. That did not come out the way he wanted it to. 

“Seriously Akaashi-san, you need to take care of yourself! I’m-,” Nishinoya pauses. He knows what he wants to say but it’s kind of cheesy for him and a little embarrassing. He’s never backed down from a challenge though, and he might as well just say it like he means it.

“I’m worried about you, and I’m sure everyone else will be too when you see them. You can tell us anything ya know?”

Akaashi is staring back at Nishinoya with wide eyes and he quickly looks away embarrassed. He stares intensely at the wall until he hears Akaashi let out a short laugh and Nishinoya can tell he’s smiling. He turns back and is greeted by the sight of the setter smiling genuinely at him, which instantly causes his face to turn red.

“W-what!?” He yells defensively. 

Akaashi shakes his head warmly.

“Nothing nothing. You’re right though. I-I had kind of the worst break ever. I’ll tell you all later because I don’t want to have to say it more than once,” he explains.

Nishinoya’s lips turn down in concern.

“Did something really bad happen?”

“Um-,” 

Akaashi is cut off as a large group of students trail in with the professor behind them. Nishinoya watches as Akaashi starts getting out his laptop and some paper. The conversation is clearly over, but now he’s feeling even more worried than before. During class, he notices that Akaashi isn’t really paying attention which is very rare. He keeps staring down at his blank notebook. Nishinoya decides he needs back up and that it would be best to warn everyone, so he discreetly whips his phone out and makes a group chat.

_ Noya has added “Kuroo” “Oikawa” and “Iwaizumi” to the chat _

**Noya** : Heads up guys something’s wrong with Akaashi-san

**Kuroo** : ?

  
**Oikawa** : Noooo really? What happened?

**Iwaizumi** : What do you mean?

**Noya** : He looked really rough today and he seems really tired like REAAAAALLLLYYY tired

**Kuroo** : No offense but that’s not really helpful

**Iwaizumi** : Sorry Noya but I have to agree

**Noya** : UGH fine I mean he looks like a zombie his hair is all messed up worse than Kuroo’s and his scent is off

**Kuroo** : Um rude

**Oikawa** : Wow yeah there is something wrong then

**Iwaizumi** : Can we please focus?

**Oikawa** : Oh right! What did you say about his scent?

**Noya** : It’s much stronger than usual and it’s like wayyyyy sweet and maybe a little sour

**Oikawa** : …

**Kuroo** : What

**Iwaizumi** : What

**Oikawa** : Did anything else happen? I need to make sure my idea isn’t out of context

**Kuroo** : That sounds super sus man

**Iwaizumi** : What are you plotting?

  
  
**Oikawa** : Iwa-chan! I’m trying to be helpful for once support me!

**Noya** : Ok anyway yeah, he kind of freaked out when I touched his shoulder to wake him up this morning

**Kuroo** : Awww that's so cute

**Noya** : You suck!! :(

**Oikawa** : Did he like flinch violently or did you just startle him

**Noya** : He jumped like I’d burned him :(

**Oikawa** : Ok so I may be wrong, but it sounds like Kei-chan may be touch starved

**Kuroo** : ?

**Iwaizumi** : ?

**Noya** : ?

**Oikawa** : I’m surrounded by idiots

**Noya** : Hey!

**Oikawa** : It’s not for sure, but I think I may be right. I know Kei-chan takes suppressants and as you know it’s not healthy for an omega to go for long periods of time without having a heat I’m guessing he may have had to go off them over break

**Iwaizumi** : Ohhhh I guess that explains the sweeter scent

**Noya** : Oh

**Kuroo** : What do you mean he’s touch starved? It hasn’t happened before

**Oikawa** : Ummm I’m not sure how much I should tell but I know that Kei-chan was having a hard time when he was dating you-know-who

**Kuroo** : Do I want to know where this is going?

  
  
**Iwaizumi** : Idk

**Oikawa** : So usually omegas are super clingy and need to be held n stuff before their heats and just, in general, it’s part of our nature. We need physical affection

**Iwaizumi** : That explains a lot

**Oikawa** : DON’T ATTACK ME RN anyway I don’t know what Kei-chan’s home life is like but I do know that our group is actually pretty physical with each other and even if Kei-chan doesn’t seem super into it he needs the touch

**Noya** : What are you getting at

**Kuroo** : Same can you just get to the point

**Oikawa** : Fine then, basically Kei-chan might be touch starved because he didn’t have us cuddling him over the break and I’m not sure if his family is affectionate with him like they should be doing, and we all know that _Yasuo_ wasn't giving any affection

**Kuroo** : Crap, so basically he hasn’t gotten the contact he needs in a long time

**Oikawa** : Maybe you do have a brain

**Iwaizumi** : Oikawa come on this is serious

**Oikawa** : He started it! Also, he’s probably exhausted because he had his heat and going through a heat partially touch starved is REALLY PAINFUL I can't imagine going through a heat in the state he did

**Noya** : :(

**Kuroo** : :(

  
  
**Iwaizumi** : How do we fix it?

**Oikawa** : We have to give him the affection he needs and from what Noya’s said we need to do it ASAP I don’t want him to fall into a drop because of this

**Noya** : THAT CAN HAPPEN?

**Kuroo** : I’m surprised you even know what a drop is

**Noya** : I’m surprised you even had the brain capacity to type that out

**Iwaizumi** : Kuroo can you make sure Akaashi gets back to his room later

**Kuroo** : Are you asking me to ask THE Akaashi Keiji to skip class?

**Iwaizumi** : YES

**Oikawa** : Actually I agree

**Kuroo** : Yes DAD

**Oikawa** : Oh wait make sure to go slow, since it seems like he’s pretty severely touch starved it’ll hurt for a while to be touched

**Kuroo** : Ok

**Noya** : Kk

**Iwaizumi** : Ok

**Kuroo** : Hold up, lemme do something real quick

**Noya** : ?

_ Kuroo added “Bokuto” to the chat _

**Oikawa** : Um what are you doing?

  
  
**Bokuto** : HEY HEY HEYYYYYY what’s going on

**Kuroo** : Read the above texts 

**Oikawa** : Oh boy

Two minutes later

**Bokuto** : :( :( :( Akaashi is touch starved? 

**Oikawa** : We don’t know that for sure, but there are a couple of signs

**Kuroo** : Bo I know you probably want to smother him but don’t 

**Bokuto** : True true, but I won’t because I don’t want to hurt him I just want to help

**Kuroo** : You’re actually way more calm about this than I thought you’d be

**Bokuto** : :)

**Noya** : I thought that was an insult

**Bokuto** : Oh then :(

**Oikawa** : …

**Iwaizumi** : …

  
**Noya** : We have lunch right after this class should I try to get him to go back to the apartment?

**Oikawa** : No he needs to eat, make Kuroo try and talk him into skipping since he’ll probably be stubborn and go to gym class anyway

**Kuroo** : That’s so true and yeah I’ll handle it

**Iwaizumi** : Text us if he’s ok

**Bokuto** : Yeah! Also, I’m coming over!

**Kuroo** : Bo what are you doing?

**Oikawa** : Ummmm idk if that’s a good idea

**Bokuto** : Don’t care I’m coming over anyways don’t worry I’ll be careful

**Noya** : So I’m gonna go the proff is glaring at me but yeah we’ll go to lunch after this c u guys l8r

**Oikawa** : Bye!

**Iwaizumi** : Bye

**Kuroo** : C ya

**Bokuto** : BYEEEEEE

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Kuroo stands by the bleachers bouncing a basketball as he waits for his younger friend to show up. Noya had texted him earlier and let him know that Akaashi was in fact coming to their gym class. He said he was really quiet and barely said a word during lunch so Kuroo was trying to prepare himself for the worse. He hopes nothing too bad happened. Another minute of bouncing the ball later, Akaashi walks through the door. He’s wearing his usual navy blue t-shirt and black shorts that he always wears to the gym. 

The setter gives him a smile that turns out more like grimace when he spots his friend. Kuroo casually sets the ball down on the bleachers when Akaashi gets closer. He tries not to let his cool facade slip, but he is surprised by the other boy’s state. Noya wasn’t lying when he said their friend looked rough. He can also definitely smell the extra sweetness and a little bit of sour to the omega’s scent.

Akaashi silently goes to sit on one of the bleachers and picks up the basketball Kuroo set down next to him. He sits down and places the basketball in his lap and just stares down at it. Kuroo doesn’t say anything as he takes a seat next to Akaashi, but not too close. He remembers that he has to go slow when trying to initiate contact. The middle blocker stares intensely at Akaashi until the other looks over at him. He leans back a little bit in surprise when he realizes Kuroo is trying to drill a hole into him with his eyes.

“Is something wrong Kuroo-san?”

“I mean kind of.”

Akaashi frowns.

“What’s wrong?”

  
  
“What’s wrong is that you’re here when you should probably be resting.”

  
  
_ Crap. Maybe that was too strong.  _ The setter narrows his eyes and looks away. Kuroo didn’t mean for that to come out so aggressive.

“Sorry. Please take care of yourself though, I’m afraid you’re going to like pass out or something during class today.”

Akaashi doesn’t say anything in response, but he does look back at Kuroo questioningly before standing up. The omega starts to walk away, but Kuroo leaps up and quickly blocks his path. Akaashi stops abruptly in front of Kuroo right before they touch. 

“Akaashi, I really think you should go back to your apartment,” Kuroo starts.

  
“I’m fine Kuroo-san, please move out of the way.”

  
  
He casually steps to the side to try and get around him, but Kuroo just follows him. Now the setter actually looks irritated. He’s slightly frowning and his eyebrows are furrowed in frustration.

“Kuroo-san, please move.”   
  
Kuroo can hear the other’s annoyance with him seeping into his words. The alpha sighs. When Akaashi tries to step past him again, he unthinkingly reaches out and grabs his arm. Mistake. The omega lets out a pained yelp and jerks away. He suddenly realizes what he’s done though and looks at Kuroo with panicked eyes. Kuroo’s sure his expression isn’t much better, but then their teacher walks in and tells them to gather around so he can take attendance. Akaashi speed walks over there to get away from Kuroo and the former captain internally groans. His friends are going to kill him, he had one job and he failed. Now the best he can do is just make sure the omega makes it through this one class.

The teacher splits them up into teams again and Kuroo scowls when he ends up on the opposite team from Akaashi. The setter doesn’ seem to have a problem with it though. He avoids Kuroo even when he’s supposed to be blocking him. Then again, the first year avoids touching anyone at all for the duration of the class. He makes sure to keep a respectable distance from everyone the entire time. Kuroo is kind of impressed, but he’s mostly irritated. Akaashi is not making this easy. 

Kuroo keeps an eye on him whenever he can and he knows that Akaashi knows he’s watching him, but the setter ignores it. He doesn’t make eye contact with him even once, that doesn’t stop Kuroo from doing it though. In the last five minutes of class, Kuroo really starts watching Akaashi like a hawk. He actually looks like he’s about to pass out now and it’s making Kuroo really anxious. He said it jokingly earlier, but it might actually come true.

When Akaashi stumbles a bit after trying to make a difficult pass to his teammate, Kuroo nearly has a heart attack. He prays that class ends soon because he doesn’t know how long the setter is going to last, and his heart can’t take the suspense much longer. Every few seconds that go by are torture. When class finally ends Kuroo strides over to Akaashi as calmly as he can, which is still slightly panicked because he’s really worried.

Akaashi has his hands on his hips, he’s breathing kind of hard, but he seems relatively ok up close. Kuroo approaches him hesitantly and stops when he’s about a foot away from the younger boy. Akaashi shifts his eyes over to meet Kuroo’s and Kuroo feels himself freeze. The omega notices his reaction and quickly softens up. He lets his arms fall loosely by his sides and relaxes his gaze as he starts talking.

“I’m sorry.”

  
  
“What? You don’t have to apologize for anything?”

  
  
“I didn’t mean to get angry at you.”

  
  
“Akaashi, really it’s ok. I’m just worried. Will you please go back to your apartment? I’m seriously worried you’re going to collapse.”

The omega smirks at him but it lacks its usual sass. Akaashi lets out a long sigh a second later and he closes his eyes. Kuroo steps a little closer just in case. He looks down at his feet before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll go back.”

“Ok, thank you.” Kuroo breathes out a sigh of relief. “I’ll text Iwaizumi when we’re back that you won’t be in History.”

“Ok.”

  
  
Akaashi is suddenly stumbling into Kuroo and the alpha barely catches him as he takes a step backward to stabilize them. 

“Oh hey, sorry about that! We didn’t see you there!” one of their classmates jokes.

Kuroo glares at the kid and the boy’s expression immediately pales. Akaashi wrenches himself out of Kuroo’s grasp looking super upset and Kuroo tries to reach out to him, but the annoying kid stops him.

He steps between Akaashi and Kuroo and gives Akaashi a devilish smirk.

“Hey there, don’t we have a class together? I’m-,” the beta boasts.

Kuroo promptly grabs the guy from behind by the collar of his shirt and snarls in his ear.

“Back off now, unless of course you want to fight three alphas later.”

He shoves the other boy forward and he immediately takes off. Kuroo makes sure the piece of scum leaves before he turns back to Akaashi. The omega is letting off a distressed smell and Kuroo is now sincerely worried that something is seriously wrong. He very carefully approaches his friend but stops when Akaashi takes a step backwards like he’s about to run.

“Wait! Akaashi, please stay,” he begs.

The omega looks conflicted, but he doesn’t move again. Kuroo takes that as a good sign. He can’t afford to let him go like this, he’s super vulnerable right now. He might be wrong, but Akaashi might be slipping into a drop with how out of it he looks and his distraught smell. Kuroo waits for his permission to advance forward and then slowly reaches out - and then Akaashi takes off. 

He startles for a second before quickly following his friend. Akaashi has a head start so there’s no way to get in front of him, so it looks like he’s going to have to grab him. He hopes Akaashi will forgive him later. Kuroo takes one last large step forward and grabs the back of the setter’s t-shirt. He pulls just hard enough to cause Akashi to stumble backward and Kuroo steps forward to trap him in a back hug. After getting over the initial shock, Akaashi starts putting up a rather difficult fight.

Kuroo simply holds onto him and lets him try to wriggle out of his grasp. Akaashi pulls on Kuroo’s arms, tries to slip out from underneath him, and even tries to kick his way out a little bit, but nothing works. He doesn’t yell, which is very Akaashi-like, but it’s unmistakable that he’s really upset. His scent isn’t distressed anymore, but now it’s angry. He struggles for about a minute before finally giving up and suddenly going limp. Kuroo has to quickly switch the position of his hands in order to catch the setter. He ends up wrapping an arm around the shorter boy’s midsection and lowering him gently the rest of the way to the ground. Once he’s down Kuroo lets go.

Akaashi sits on his knees with his shoulders tense and his head down. Kuroo can only see the back of him, so he has no idea what kind of expression is on the setter’s face. None of them move for a solid thirty seconds and the air is thick with the tension between them. Then Akaashi turns his head to look over his shoulder at Kuroo and the middle blocker’s eyes widen in surprise. Akaashi is almost always put together and he keeps his emotions in check, to the point that many people think he is emotionless, so it catches Kuroo off guard to see Akaashi’s crestfallen expression.

His eyes are glassy with tears and Kuroo feels regret start to pool in his stomach. He hates making people upset, especially his friends, and Akaashi’s face makes him feel like a horrible person. He looks so miserable with his hunched posture and his efforts trying not to cry. Akaashi faces forward again and looks at the floor. Kuroo moves to go sit across from his friend and makes sure his own body language is loose so he projects openness rather than a confrontational vibe. Akaashi keeps his eyes glued to the floor for a while and Kuroo watches him wipe his tears away occasionally with the heel of his hand. He thought he felt guilty before, but this twists his gut painfully.

The omega catches him off guard when he slightly rises from his knees and flings himself forward so his head is buried in Kuroo’s stomach. The alpha remains tense until he feels Akaashi lean back just slightly to wrap his arms around him and then Kuroo gently returns the gesture by placing a hand protectively on the back of Akaashi’s head and curling the other arm over his waist. He can feel Akaashi’s tears seeping through his shirt, but his thoughts are more occupied by the fact that Akaashi actually came to him for comfort. He thought the other was pissed off at him.

A few minutes pass of Kuroo holding Akaashi while he cries when Kuroo suddenly hears heavy footsteps approaching them rather quickly. He instinctively pulls the setter a little closer to him, and then Oikawa and Nishinoya are bounding into the gym. Nishinoya is the first one in, but he stops abruptly partway through the entrance when he sees the two of them resulting in Oikawa running right into him.

“Noya-chan!” Oikawa squeaks.   
  
He pushes the libero out of the way but also freezes when his eyes land on Kuroo and Akaashi. His face quickly morphs into one of concern and he rushes over to the pair with Nishinoya hot on his heels. The older omega falls to his knees next to Kuroo’s right side and Nishinoya sits on his left. Oikawa looks up at Kuroo for answers, but Kuroo just mouths that he’ll tell him later. Oikawa gives him an indecipherable look before placing his hand tentatively on Akaashi’s back. The other doesn’t stir at all. The second-year suddenly gasps and tries to pull the omega out of Kuroo’s grasp. 

“Oikawa what the hell are you doing!? You’re gonna wake him up!” Kuroo snaps.

“He’s fallen into a drop! I know how to handle this let go!” The setter yells back.

The alpha does see the other’s logic, but his instincts are telling him not to let go. Oikawa begins to tug a little harder, and for some reason that sets Kuroo off. It feels like Oikawa’s challenging his authority. His lips curl up and he opens his mouth to growl at the other boy, but he’s beaten to it. A low and threatening snarl rips through the gym, and all of them instantly freeze. Kuroo would even go as far as to say that it’s an alpha command, the sound oozes protectiveness and even a little jealousy. He risks looking over his shoulder to see Bokuto Koutarou standing at the entrance to the gym, his gold eyes flashing with anger, and Iwaizumi barely holding him back.

“Get away from him,” the alpha commands hostilely. 

Kuroo feels himself slowly pulling his hands away from Akaashi’s body like he’s a puppet. He doesn’t have control over his body at all in that moment. In his peripheral vision, he sees Oikawa and Nishinoya bow their heads obediently and back away a little bit. Akaashi doesn’t move, but without Kuroo and Oikawa holding him, the setter ends up falling back onto Kuroo’s lap on his side with his head on Kuroo’s thigh.

Iwaizumi doesn’t seem affected though even though he’s the closest. He maintains a hard grip on the other’s bicep and whispers something to the other alpha in a low voice, but they’re too far away for Kuroo to hear. However, Bokuto’s eyes stop flashing and his posture relaxes slightly, so Kuroo assumes he must have said something about Bokuto needing to calm down before he gets near them, especially Akaaashi. Then, Iwaizumi swiftly steps in front of Bokuto, places a placating hand on his chest, and makes sure he’s actually going to wait before approaching the small group cautiously. 

The alpha sits down next to his boyfriend and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. When Oikawa looks up at him he smiles at him and Oikawa relaxes. The setter reaches out to give Iwaizumi’s hand a squeeze before relinquishing his hold so the spiker can check on Akaashi. Iwaizumi leans over Oikawa to gently touch the omega’s arm that’s closest to him. His skin is ice cold. Iwaizumi looks back at Oikawa for backup, and the setter reacts without a word.

He reaches out and places the palm of his hand on the omega’s forehead. After a few seconds, he pats Akaashi’s left cheek gently and when that does nothing he leans down and lightly sniffs the other omega’s scent gland on his neck. The seter frowns when he realizes his friend’s scent is so weak that it’s almost non-existent.

“He’s definitely dropped, but I don’t know how bad. We need to move him, but first I want to see if we can wake him up so I can see how serious it is. If he doesn’t wake up within the next hour then I think we should take him to the ER,” Oikawa suggests lowly.

“Ok, what do we do?” Kuroo whispers. 

Oikawa looks at Nishinoya and watches as their youngest friend keeps looking at Akaashi worriedly. He decides to give Nishinoya the task first to help distract him and also because he looks so conflicted at not being able to do anything.

  
  
“Noya -chan.”

  
  
The libero flickers his eyes over and Oikawa smiles reassuringly.

“Do you know how to croon?” 

The omega looks pensive and then nods reluctantly. 

“I mean kind of. I’ve only done it once. I’m better at purring but I can try.”

“Ok thank you, I think a calming sound mixed with familiar scents may help. We need to make sure he feels safe to bring him out of it. You’ll do fine.”   
  
Oikawa has Nishinoya switch with him so he can be close to Akaashi’s head and more easily heard. The libero hovers uncertainly for a moment before touching the other omega’s arm and starts to croon. Oikawa starts releasing some of his own soothing pheromones so he can contribute, and he notices the alphas trying to remain calm so their scents don’t hold any anger or aggressiveness. The setter also makes sure to touch some part of Akaashi to provide more physical comfort by getting up and going to sit at the other’s feet so he can rest a hand on his leg.

Nishinoya does a good job. For having only done it once prior, he’s quite good at it. His croon is a perfect soft and steady hum, exactly what a croon should be in order to have the proper soothing effect. It goes uninterrupted for a few relaxing moments until it suddenly catches in his throat and the sound stutters to a stop. Oikawa glances over to see Nishinoya looking over his shoulder and up slightly at Bokuto. The alpha is fidgeting nervously about a foot away and it’s making Nishinoya anxious as well which is probably why he stopped crooning. Bokuto looks slightly embarrassed, very nervous, but mostly worried. Nishinoya’s body language is tense, but he doesn’t break eye contact with the older boy when Bokuto finally looks at him. Eventually, he sighs and waves the alpha over.

“You need to chill. Come sit down and try to relax, you’re making everyone nervous with your weird vibe,” the libero says bluntly.

Kuroo and Oikawa smirk at him as the alpha grimaces, properly scolded and goes to sit next to Oikawa on Kuroo’s left side. Nishinoya eyes him and gives the ace a sharp look before clapping his hand on his back. 

“Seriously though, relax.”

“Right, sorry,” Bokuto mumbles. 

Nishinoya scooches back to Akaashi to put a hand on his arm again and resumes crooning. Bokuto concentrates hard on trying to relax so his nervousness doesn’t rub off more. He also doesn’t want Akaashi to be afraid of scent or make him more upset, so there’s another strong reason to calm down. 

“He’s warming up!” Nishinoya whispers excitedly.

All of them lean in closer to see. Nishinoya is right. The color seems to be returning to the setter’s face and his scent is starting to come back. They all wait anxiously as Akaashi slowly drifts back into consciousness. His eyelids flutter briefly and then he slowly blinks them open. Akaashi blearily takes in the current situation and feels himself start to flush with embarrassment. He feels the warm touches on his arm and leg disappear as he pushes himself off of Kuroo’s thigh to sit up. His vision is still pretty cloudy, but he can see enough to know it’s his friends, and he can smell as well as feel their worry.

Akaashi takes a look around again to try and get an idea of everyone’s position, but when his eyes meet Bokuto’s he quickly snaps them down to look at the floor. He doesn’t know how to feel about the ace right now knowing how his ex-boyfriend treated him and what he said about him. He feels incredibly guilty and unworthy of the older alpha. The setter suddenly feels two warm hands on his cheeks and he waits patiently as Oikawa examines him. The second-year gently tilts his head to the side to really get a good look at his scent gland, which he assumes is swollen because it hurts, and then he looks back into Akaashi’s eyes. The older omega drops his hands once he’s satisfied and puts a soothing hand on Akaashi’s leg as he makes direct eye contact with Bokuto.

“Bo-chan. Can you carry him back?”

Akaashi feels his heart stutter in his chest as he suddenly panics. He tries to conceal it though as Bokuto gradually moves himself over from sitting at Kuroo’s side to suddenly crouching right in front of him. The ace doesn’t say anything, but Akaashi can feel from his intense gaze that he can barely see through his hazy vision that he’s silently asking  _ can I touch you?  _ Even though his head is telling him this is a bad idea with his conflicted feelings for his friend, his body and inner omega think it’s a great idea. He feels that twinge of desire to want to be held, specifically by Bokuto, and there’s nothing he can do to resist it. Akaashi feels himself reaching out for the alpha instinctively, and then Bokuto is scooping him up like he weighs nothing.

Akaashi grasps onto the front of Bokuto’s shirt out of the panic of being lifted up so quickly. He relaxes once he feels the spiker start to walk at an even pace. His eyes are starting to clear up, but he’s tired and he knows that he’s relatively safe right now so he lets his eyes slip closed again. He takes comfort in his friend's calming scents as they slowly walk back to his and Oikawa’s apartment, at least that’s where he thinks they’re headed.

His prediction is right. Oikawa unlocks their door and instructs Bokuto to sit Akaashi on the couch. The alpha half-listens. He sits down on the couch and repositions them so Akaashi’s head is in his lap, so the setter technically is on the sofa, but he’s trapped on top of his friend. Bokuto removes his right arm to rest on the armrest of the chair and he has the other wrapped protectively around Akaashi’s midsection. It feels almost intimate and the position is doing weird things to his heart. He pretends to still be asleep to spare him more embarrassment, but it doesn’t last for long. Oikawa, Kuroo, Iwaizumi, and Nishinoya come back a few minutes later from the kitchen to sit in various positions around him. Nishionya is on the other end of the sofa at Akaashi’s feet, and Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Oikawa are spread out in front of the sofa but not too far away.

Akaashi feels Oikawa reach up from his position in front of the couch and brush up and down his arm closest to the edge of the sofa in a soothing gesture. At his feet, he feels Nishinoya scooch closer so they’re touching, and the smaller omega starts to purr. It sounds different from what he was doing before, from what Akaashi felt subconsciously earlier, and it makes him feel content. He also feels Kuroo and Iwaizumi push in a little closer so they can each touch some part of him. 

He feels like he’s wrapped up in a warm blanket, and his body actually welcomes the physical contact this time. It warms his heart and he feels secure. It’s like he’s just come in from playing in the snow as a kid and is warming himself up by the fire. He didn’t realize how cold he was earlier until now as he’s starting to heat back up. Laying there surrounded by the familiar scent of his friends, and being held by the alpha he’s always liked, but never really wanted to admit, is pure bliss. He finally feels like things are going to be ok, and that knowledge is enough, for now, to put his mind at ease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the tumbler post I used to help me write some of my a/b/o dynamics! If you do not know what purring or crooning is this helps explain it a little bit!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/search/omegaverse%20noises


	5. Discovery

“Kuroo don’t do that,” someone chastises. 

“Come on it’s great blackmail material!”

“Why are you like this?” A gruff voice sighs.

“You know Bokuto is going to kill you later if he finds out.”

“Maybe, but then he’ll be begging me to send it to him.”

Akaashi can hear voices bickering in the background. It sounds like they’ve moved to the kitchen, or just a few feet away to the dining table because Akaashi can make out clearly what they’re saying even if it is a little quiet. By what he’s just heard, he’s assuming that he and Bokuto may be in a compromising position on the sofa, they are the only ones who haven’t moved. The setter cracks open one eye, notes what position he’s in, and feels his face start to turn pink. Bokuto is now lying flat on his back, sleeping soundly while Akaashi’s face is resting on Bokuto’s shoulder right next to his scent gland. The ace still has a protective arm thrown over the omega, but it’s looser now, however, there’s no way Akaashi could move him without waking him up. 

He sighs in defeat and quickly closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep again, but he’s been caught. He feels Kuroo’s shit-eating-grin before he hears his devilish laughter, and he knows he’s done for. Akaashi snaps open his eyes and shoots Kuroo the hardest glare he can muster. The middle blocker stops where he is with his hand hovering over the capture picture button on his phone. The two of them stare at each other, having a mental battle, before Kuroo grins again, raises his eyebrows at Akaashi, and takes the picture. There is an audible click after the photo is taken, since Kuroo has the sound on his phone on, and suddenly Bokuto is jolting upright, accidentally taking Akaashi with him.

Bokuto frantically makes eye contact with the setter, then looks over to the side at Kuroo barely restraining his laughter, and lunges off the sofa at his friend.

“Kuroo you bastard what did you do!” Bokuto yells.

Akaashi lets it happen, Kuroo deserves way worse anyway. The omega sits there watching Kuroo and Bokuto wrestle over Kuroo’s phone praying that Bokuto wins. He knows Kuroo probably took some other photos and he is the last person Akaashi wants to have then. A moment later he feels two people sit next to him on either side. Oikawa looks at him sympathetically and Nishinoya laughs brightly as he slaps him on the arm lightly.

“Just a heads up,” Oikawa starts. Akaashi looks at him. “Kuroo-chan took a video of you nuzzling into Bokuto’s neck like a cat.”

The setter’s face goes scarily blank as he processes what Oikawa just told him. Then he shoves the other boy off the sofa. 

“Hey! What did I do!” Oikawa squawks indignantly.

Nishinoya laughs at Oikawa’s misery and he hears Iwaizumi chuckle from behind them as he leans on the top of the sofa. Akaashi finds himself smiling a little too before looking at the middle of the living room to see Bokuto trap Kuroo in a headlock.

“Bokuto-san,” he calls liltingly.

Bokuto’s reaction is instantaneous. He keeps a tight hold on Kuroo but doesn’t hesitate to lock eyes with Akaashi. His head tilts like an owl’s curiously as he waits for Akaashi to say something. 

“You better get that phone,” is all he says.

Kuroo’s expression pales, and Bokuto beams at him before glaring back down at the other alpha. Then he proceeds to pull his arm tighter until Kuroo relents and tosses his phone to the side for Bokuto to grab. Bokuto shoves him forward and Kuroo pretends like he’s dying. Bokuto picks up Kuroo’s phone and quickly types in his password. Akaashi isn’t sure how he knows that information, but he doesn’t question it. He watches the alpha tap the screen, probably opening up the photo app and scroll through a couple of them. He suddenly stops scrolling and his eyes widen when he gets to a certain photo. Akaashi sees him staring at the screen, dumbfounded, and decides to do something. 

He gets off the sofa, creeps up behind Bokuto, and snatches the phone out of the other’s grasp. Bokuto spins around and pouts heavily.

“Agkaashiiiii,” he whines.

The setter doesn’t say anything as he brings the phone up to his face to see, and he feels his face start to turn dark red and spread to the tips of his ears too. It’s a video, but Akaashi doesn’t need to play it to know what it is. In the thumbnail, he’s got his face pressed close to Bokuto’s scent gland, tilted slightly, clearly about to nuzzle against him. He debates watching it before cursing himself for even second-guessing himself and quickly deleting the video as well as the other photos. He even makes sure to go all the way into the photo settings to delete them permanently.

Akaashi silently strides over to Kuroo and hands him his phone back. The middle blocker takes it and slides it into his pocket while eyeing the setter suspiciously. He’s probably aware that Akaashi’s face is bright red, but for some reason, he doesn’t mention it. The omega walks back over the sofa and flops down on it. Bokuto slides backward until his back hits the sofa and then he just sits there calmly. No one says a word for a few minutes. The air isn’t awkward, it’s just silent. Oikawa is the one who breaks through the quietness after a while. He looks up from playing a game on his phone and turns around from his sitting position at the floor to look at Akaashi.

His brown eyes are wide and serious, and Akaashi steels himself for what’s about to come.

“Why were you touch starved?”

The question is straightforward, and Akaashi expected nothing less from the former captain. He's just slightly caught off guard at the timing. He tries to figure out how much to share in his head before continuing though. He decides to start off simply.

“It hurt.” The omega replies evenly. He feels five sets of eyes on him as he continues to explain. 

“It started some time over break. I would touch someone, and I would get a shock. It wasn’t really that bad, but then it got worse. Whenever I would come into contact with someone, even my family, it was painful. It burned and I didn’t like the pain so I avoided touching anyone, which was probably why it got so bad.”

“Doesn’t your family hug you? Or at the very least scent you?” Nishinoya asks.

“We’re not really the touchy-feely type.”

The libero frowns.

“That’s not healthy though. You need touch.”

He’s right, and Akaashi hates this part of being an omega. He hates having to rely on people, he hates that he needs touch because it’s inconvenient and he feels weak because of it.

“It wasn’t really a problem before. Our volleyball team was not shy about physical affection, and when I came here I had you guys.”

“What about Yasuo? Doesn't he hold you?” Bokuto asks tentatively.

He’s looking at Akaashi with wide eyes and no judgment. He looks like he genuinely just wants to know. The setter starts playing with his fingers like he does when he’s anxious and looks anywhere but at his friends.

“He used to, but then things kind of went downhill,” he murmurs quietly.

“Ok, no, that’s just wrong,” Oikawa chimes in. “Even if you guys were fighting, he should not have withheld physical contact, that’s too cruel. It’s abuse.”

“Yeah, and everyone knows how dangerous being touch starved can be for an omega,” Nishinoya adds.

Akaashi looks down at his hands as he continues to twist his fingers, and silence falls over the whole group. His mind starts to reel with self-conscious thoughts like maybe his friends hate him now and that it’s his fault for being touch starved because he’s just a dependent omega. They probably think he’s a whore like Yasuo does too. What if they hurt him?

A panicked gasp startles Akaashi out of his head. He looks up to see all his friends staring at him with varying degrees of horror on their faces. The omega feels his heart drop. Did he just say that out loud?! 

“W-what did I say?” he manages to squeak out.

A second later, he feels a large, warm hand on top of his and Bokuto jolts up from his sitting position to get right into Akaashi’s personal space on the sofa so he’s the only thing the setter can see. The ace gets so close that their noses are almost touching, but Akaashi doesn’t back down. He sees a seriousness in Bokuto’s gold eyes that he’s never seen before, and he feels like he has to pay attention.

Bokuto’s left hand squeezes his own trembling ones that he was fiddling with. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s a firm touch and his other hand resting on the setter’s shoulder as he faces him.

“Akaashi, we don’t hate you, and everything Yasuo said about you was wrong. You’re amazing and he’s a bastard. Don’t listen to him,” the ace says softly, but determined.

His mouth quirks up in a small smile, but then it turns cold the next moment.

“Did he hurt you? Bokuto demands, deadly serious.

Akaashi opens his mouth to reply, but no words come out. This whole thing is spiraling out of control. Why did he say that? He didn’t realize Yasuo’s words were still affecting him. Why is he bothered by them now of all times? Is it because he’s emotionally unstable right now? What’s wrong with him?

“Bo, you need to calm down, you’re scaring him,” Kuroo hisses.

“It’s ok Kuroo-san, I deserve it. After what Yasuo did to Bokuto because of me I definitely deserve it.” Akaashi explains monotone.

Bokuto pulls away like Akaashi hit him and he gives the omega an unreadable expression. He hovers close to the setter’s position on the couch, but he feels too far away.

“You knew?”

“I mean kind of. Yasuo mentioned it when we were fighting and I texted him later to confirm if he harassed you. He said yes immediately. I’m so sorry,” he apologizes sadly.

The alpha’s eyebrows furrow in what Akaashi thinks is confusion.

“Akaashi, you are not responsible for what happened. I know you think you knew, but you didn’t, not really. You didn’t knowingly stay with that creep while knowing what he was up to. You only found out in the end when you guys were fighting, so you are NOT at fault.” Bokuto emphasizes.

“But-,”

“No buts. I don’t blame you. No one here hates you. Now please, tell me the truth, did he hurt you?”

Bokuto is looking at him with such worry and he sees all his friends watching him in anticipation. He owes them the truth after all they’ve done for him. He just needs to muster up the courage to say it.

“Yes,” Akaashi breathes.

He feels Nishinoya scooch in closer to him on the sofa until they touch and Oikawa reaches an arm from over where he’s sitting on the floor to squeeze the omega’s ankle comfortingly.

“What did he do?” Bokuto pushes.

“Bo that’s enough,” Kuroo warns.

“Bokuto I think you should stop,” Iwaizumi agrees gruffly from where he’s standing over the top of the sofa.

Akaashi can smell Bokuto’s rising anger. He’s starting to release angry as well as protective pheromones, and the omega can tell it’s affecting everyone in the room. He does a quick sweep of the room, sees Nishinoya shrinking back a little bit and Oikawa wince, and decides to just tell Bokuto what he wants to know. If it’ll get him to calm down then he’ll tell him, even though he doesn’t really want to.

“Fine, ok. He slapped me. Is that what you wanted to know?” Akaashi replies bitterly.

He knows he’s being harsh, but Bokuto’s starting to get out of control. 

The ace freezes and Akaashi holds his breath. He looks into Bokuto’s eyes and suddenly finds himself paralyzed. The alpha’s pupils have dilated and his scent has increased tenfold. They’re all essentially suffocating in Bokuto’s rage due to his pheromones going haywire and Akaashi knows he’s about to blow up.

Bokuto suddenly marches past the couch with a murderous look in his eyes and towards the door. He throws it open in his rage, effectively slamming it into the wall and probably leaving a dent, before storming down the hall. Kuroo and Iwaizumi are up in a flash the instant Bokuto throws open the door and they try to stop him. Akaashi follows, in a daze, with Nishinoya and Oikawa behind him. Akaashi is going to be responsible for Yasuo’s murder, not that he really cares about that part, but he’ll be responsible for getting Bokuto incarcerated. He’ll be responsible for Bokuto getting hurt. 

The thought of Bokuto getting injured because of him again is what prompts him to finally chase after the other like he means it. The setter sprints down the hall to where Kuroo and Iwaizumi are desperately trying to hold Bokuto back and latches onto his free right arm. Bokuto seems to recognize his presence because he stops in his tracks momentarily. He looks down at Akaashi, and the omega’s green eyes meet dark ones blown wide with fury.

“Bokuto-san where are you going?” He asks desperately.

“To murder Yasuo.”

The seriousness in the alpha’s voice sends chills down Akaashi’s spine. 

“Please don’t he’s not worth it.”

“But he hit you,” Bokuto states like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

The setter grips the spiker’s arm a little harder.

“I know, but it’s over now. I broke up with him already over text and I’m never going to see him ever again. Please stop, I don’t want you to get hurt,” he pleads.

Akaashi can feel Bokuto start to waver. He’s never been this honest with his friend before and he hopes Bokuto understands the weight of what he’s saying. The omega can almost hear the spiker’s internal conflict, and when Bokuto takes another step forward Akaashi quickly releases his arm and jumps in front of him instead. Kuroo backs up so the first-year has more room. Akaashi is now directly in front of Bokuto, blocking his path, so there’s no way he can be ignored. 

Akaashi decides to take a gamble. He strides forward until he’s mere inches away from Bokuto, then he roughly grabs the front of Bokuto’s shirt to pull him down to his level. He scans Bokuto’s face before quickly tilting his head to the side and burying his nose in Bokuto’s scent gland on his neck. The alpha’s pupils shrink back to normal size and Akaashi can smell his oppressive anger-induced pheromones start to dissipate.

“A-A-Akaashi?!”

The setter selfishly inhales a little bit of Bokuto’s own sharp cinnamon and apple scent before releasing the alpha. He’s heard that omegas' scents can be used to calm down other sub genders, especially if they are close, so he took a risk and scented Bokuto. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but from the glazed and blissful look the ace is currently sporting, Akaashi assumes it was pretty effective. 

“Bokuto-san, I appreciate your concern, but everything’s fine. Plus, you don’t even know how to locate Yasuo, so please just drop it. It’s over anyway,” he explains calmly.

He decides to hit the ace with the facts while he’s in a relaxed state. He also needs to make sure that Bokuto won’t do anything without any of them holding him back. Bokuto zeros in on him, still looking slightly out of it, and responds quietly.

“Is that really what you want?”

Akaashi takes a moment to consider Bokuto’s question. Part of him does want revenge, but mostly he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. Yasuo’s done enough damage as it is.

“Yes. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

There’s more to that sentence than Akaashi cares to admit. He doesn’t want to think about Yasuo for various reasons, but the main one is that it would force him to address his feelings for the ace. Dating Yasuo was almost like an excuse for Akaashi to deny anything he may have felt for his friend, but now that everything’s over, he can’t hide anymore. It’s terrifying. 

“Ok, I won’t do anything then. I promise.”

Akaashi can barely look Bokuto in the eyes. He feels himself wilting under the spiker’s pure and intense gaze. He really doesn’t deserve him. Akaashi gives Bokuto a slightly strangled “thank you” before shuffling past him and trying to escape back to the apartment. He hears Bokuto call after him, but then he hears Kuroo and Iwaizumi step in to stop the alpha from following soon after. Nishinoya and Oikawa step to the side of the hallway to let him past, but he feels the libero’s concerned gaze and the other setter’s sad “Kei-chan” as he disappears into the apartment.

The door is still wide open and Akaashi lifelessly makes his way to his bedroom on the left side of the apartment. He slips inside, shuts the door, and goes to flop on his bed face down. He kind of wants to scream into his pillow like in those high school American movies, but he doesn't have enough energy. He’s physically drained, and he feels like he’s given himself emotional whiplash with all that’s happened to him. He hasn’t felt this strongly or conflicted in his life. He flips onto his back and replays the events of that day in his head.

He stops when he vaguely recalls Bokuto’s possessive growl from when he was passed out in the gym. He felt Bokuto’s dominating presence more than he saw it. All he knows is that his omega reacted to Bokuto’s alpha. He was the only one Akaashi reacted to, and he’s not sure what to do with that information. Akaashi knows that the two of them are close, Bokuto didn’t do anything while he was dating Yasuo out of fear that Akaashi would get hurt, and he was ready to murder Yasuo after finding out the truth. He knows that the ace cares for him at least a little, but he doesn’t know if his feelings are platonic or romantic.

The setter’s in love with Bokuto. No matter how much he wants to deny it, he’s never stopped being in love with him. Even when he was with Yasuo, he knew that it wasn’t what he really wanted and he felt guilty. Part of him still does feel bad for using Yasuo to get over Bokuto, but then he remembers that his ex-boyfriend is actually a demon and doesn’t feel as bad. Without Yasuo as cover, and with the way Bokuto’s been acting, Akaashi isn’t sure how to feel.

He knows that he wants to be with the ace, but he doesn’t know if Bokuto feels the same way. He just needs some time to sort out his feelings and decide what he’s going to do. The setter leans over to flick off the lamp by his bedside before curling in on himself and trying to get some rest. He’s going to need it if he’s trying to decipher the enigma that is Bokuto Koutarou.


	6. Back to Square One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This is the longest chapter so be prepared!

Bokuto knows deep down that something has changed. All his friends and even Akaashi keep telling him that nothing is different, but he knows it is. Ever since the “incident” as they’ve dubbed it, things weren’t really the same. It’s been many weeks since they found out about Akaashi being touch starved and all the events that happened after it. Bokuto knew they couldn’t go back the instant Akaashi walked away after stopping him from going to kill Akaashi’s crappy ex. 

It was frustrating, to say the least. They easily fell back into their usual routine, but Bokuto felt the tension between the two of them. He still played volleyball with them on Friday nights and he hung out will all them occasionally when they weren’t busy. Kuroo still gave him updates on Akaashi a lot, but their dynamic had changed. His friends were acting more cautious around them, and his relationship with Akaashi was more strained. The setter was careful about allowing Bokuto to get into his personal space. He let Bokuto touch him like slinging an arm around his shoulder and bumping into him playfully, but he was always tense when it happened. Eventually, Bokuto stopped doing it because he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

It’s like there’s a wall between them now that he just can’t break through. Akaashi has gone back to his even more reserved self, like how he was when he was a first-year in high school and barely knew Bokuto. He doesn’t know what to do. It’s killing him that they can’t go back to the way they were. He’s sure it’s his fault, but he doesn’t know what to do. Maybe they should take a break for a bit. 

“Hey, Bokuto-san!”   
  
The ace quickly looks up to see Hiroshi take a seat across from him at the table. Hiroshi is an animated first-year in his math class. He kind of reminds Bokuto of Hinata. The two of them are both so pure and innocent. Hiroshi slings his backpack off and starts pulling out a notebook.

“What are you doing?” Bokuto asks skeptically.

“Getting out stuff to study? I mean we’re in a library so…” the other trails off.

Bokuto lets out a genuine laugh.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right! Do you want to study for that math quiz we have on Monday?”

“Sure!”

Hiroshi digs in his backpack until he finds the right folder. Then he throws it onto the table triumphantly. It’s kind of cute. The first-year looks up at Bokuto curiously and the ace realizes he was staring. He quickly laughs it off though and asks Hiroshi what he wants to study first. The younger boy opens to the first page of his notes and looks Bokuto directly in the eye.

“Could we start at the beginning? I think I need to study all of it because I didn’t understand anything since the first lecture.”

  
  
Bokuto blinks slowly before shaking his head exasperatedly. This study session is going to be like the blind leading the blind because apparently none of them understand what’s happening. He figures it will work out though, it can’t be that bad.

“Alright then! Let’s do this!”

  
  
“Ok! I guess we should go over the trigonometric functions first.”   
  


“Wait we learned that?”

  
  


A few hours later, Bokuto and Hiroshi end up getting through most of the material. There were a few things, ok a lot of things, they had to look up, but it was actually a pretty productive study session. Bokuto also got to learn more about Hiroshi too. He already knew a couple of things because they sat together in math class, but they don’t usually get to talk for long and they don’t hang out outside of class. Hiroshi seems like a cool guy though, so Bokuto wouldn’t mind hanging out with him. It’s actually a little late, so maybe they could go to dinner or something.

That’s when he remembers. Today is Friday, he’s supposed to go play volleyball. Bokuto scoops up his phone from beside him and checks the time. It’s 7:15. He’s already late. Bokuto debates rushing all the way over there, but then he stops. He’s practiced with them almost every Friday, and there’s a weird tension between him and Akaashi, he could miss one day. Taking a break might be nice for once.

Bokuto looks over at Hiroshi and sees him rapidly typing out something on his phone. 

“Hey um Hiroshi?”

  
  
The first-year looks up with wide eyes.

“It’s kind of late and we haven’t had dinner. Do you want to go get some ramen? I know a good place around here.”

  
  
Hiroshi lights up and responds a little too loudly, but then, Bokuto does the exact same thing right after.

“Yes! I’m starving! Let’s gooo!”

  
  
“Hey hey Heyyyyy! Alright come on!”

  
  
The two of them pack up and Hiroshi sticks to his side as Bokuto leads them down to the ramen place he really likes. He shoots a quick text off to Kuroo as they’re walking letting him know that he won’t be there. He feels slightly guilty for canceling on them, but a small part of him also feels relieved that he won’t have to go this time. Things have been awkward for a while now. He wants to fix whatever’s wrong, but he isn’t sure how.

On the way there, Hiroshi tells Bokuto more about his family, and the spiker learns that Hiroshi is the only beta in his family. Everyone else is omega. This catches Bokuto by surprise because he totally thought the first-year was an omega. He has the smaller build of one and his scent is lightly sweet, but he was wrong. Hiroshi gives him a look like he knows what he was thinking and tells Bokuto that it’s a common mistake. Bokuto feels bad for just assuming, but Hiroshi tells him it’s fine and that he prefers being a beta anyway. When they arrive, Bokuto grabs a table by the window and then the two of them order.

The atmosphere is casual and kind of refreshing. Bokuto doesn’t feel any tension and it’s a nice break. The two of them talk like they’re old friends and Bokuto wishes that he could have this kind of moment with Akaashi. That thought instantly kills the mood and puts a bitter taste in his mouth. He can’t have this with Akaashi with the way things are right now.

“Is something wrong Bokuto-san?”

  
  
“No I’m ok!” He lies smoothly.

Luckily, Hiroshi is too innocent to question him and he goes back to talking about his family and how good the ramen is. Bokuto tells Hiroshi a little bit about himself too, and he even tells him about Akaashi. The first-year listens intently the whole time. Bokuto is halfway through telling him a story that happened at one training camp when Hiroshi interrupts him.

“Do you like this Akaashi-san?

Bokuto feels his heart stop. He freezes with his chopsticks full of noodles hovering over the bowl. His brain short circuits as he tries to come up with something to say. Hiroshi could have meant it as does he like Akaashi as a close friend, but he also could have meant it the other way. Honestly, Bokuto isn’t sure.  _ Does he like Akaashi as more than a friend? _

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude!” Hiroshi desperately apologizes.

“I-it’s ok,” the ace chokes out.

The two of them eat in silence for a few minutes as Bokuto has a mental breakdown inside his head. He’s never really thought about liking Akaashi in  _ that  _ way. He’s really close to the setter. Akaashi is the only one who can pull him out of his dejected mode, and Bokuto loves his tosses. He remembers when Akaashi first tossed to him, and he knew that the two of them were meant to play together. Akaashi’s supported him through a lot, and Bokuto can’t imagine playing volleyball without him.

He remembers walking home with Akaashi all those times after practice, Akaashi helping him study math, and hanging out at his house over the weekends. Akaashi’s always been there and he remembers how hard it was to adjust in college without his best friend. It was hard to adjust to the setter on his college volleyball team, he couldn’t pull Bokuto out of his funk like Akaashi could. He remembers how difficult it was not having the setter there because he was so used to Akaashi’s silent but firm presence there beside him. Kuroo, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi helped last year, but it still felt like he was missing something. Then when Yasuo texted him about asking Akaashi out he wanted to go over there and punch the kid. When he told him he would hurt Akaashi if he told anyone, Bokuto really wanted to go over there and show him a piece of his mind, but he hadn’t. He’s aware that he can get protective over the younger boy, but he’s just not sure if that means he loves him. He definitely doesn’t want to think about what happened recently, he doesn’t even know what it means. All he knows is that he was ready to kill Yasuo the second he found out what he had done to his friend.

“Um, Bokuto-san?”

  
  
Hiroshi’s slightly fearful voice brings Bokuto back to reality.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just curious because whenever you mentioned Akaashi-san you got this look on your face.”   
  


Bokuto waves him off and tilts his head.

“It’s ok I don’t mind. But what do you mean I get this look on my face?”

“Hmmm, I’m not really sure how to describe it. You just look really happy when you talk about him. I guess the right word would be fond. At least that’s what my friends say I look like when I talk about my boyfriend,” Hiroshi explains.

“Oh.”

  
  
“Don’t worry, it's not a bad thing!”

“It’s ok I was just surprised.”

“Ah ok.”

The two of them lapse into a more comfortable silence as they finish up their ramen. Hiroshi tries to avoid the topic of Akaashi as the two of them walk back to the campus, but Bokuto ends up bringing the setter up himself. He wants to test if he really talks about Akaashi differently than other things. By the time the two of them part ways, it’s already very late at night. Bokuto wonders how the volleyball match went between his friends and that just gets him thinking about the younger boy even more. 

Bokuto quietly enters his apartment and sees that his roommate is gone because his shoes aren’t by the door. He shrugs and makes his way to his own bedroom. When he gets there, he stares at the bed for a solid minute before actually moving to go lay on it. Bokuto tosses his backpack to the side and flops onto the bed to look up at the ceiling. The only thing he can think about is what Hiroshi asked him earlier.

_ Does he like Akaashi? Does he like him as more than a friend? _ His mind decides that now is the right moment to flashback to a couple of weeks ago. It’s fuzzy, but he still remembers running to the gym when he found out that Akaashi was touch starved. He remembers running into Iwaizumi on the way and the two of them practically sprinting to the gym. He remembers smelling Oikawa’s Jasmine scent, Kuroo’s wood one, and Nishinoya’s sharp mint, but he didn’t smell Akaashi’s. That fact combined with the omegas' scents being tinged with distress and Kuroo’s with protectiveness caused him to take off. He still doesn’t quite know exactly what happened, but all he remembers is seeing Akaashi passed out in Kuroo’s arms and his alpha instantly shifting to possessive mode.

Akaashi was  _ his,  _ not Kuroo’s, not Yasuo’s, not anyone’s. He vaguely recalls Iwaizumi pushing him back and telling him to calm down and then eventually having to carry Akaashi back to his apartment. What he does remember very clearly though was feeling an intense fire burn in his belly when Akaashi told them why he was touch starved and what Yasuo had done to him. He had never wanted to kill anyone more in his life. He hated Yasuo since last year when he threatened him in a text message. He loathed the idea of Yasuo and Akaashi together from the beginning. He knew that snake wasn’t good enough for him, and he was proved right when Yasuo ended up hurting the setter. 

No one gets to treat Akaashi like that. He deserves the best. He puts up with Bokuto’s crap, he’s supportive, he listens well, he may be quiet but he’s super kind, he’s a great friend, he’s super pretty, Bokuto hates that someone else might steal him away, he kind of wants to kiss him and-

Holy crap. He’s in love Akaashi Keiji.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Akaashi doesn’t realize he’s been being stupid until all his friends tell him to his face. On Friday’s practice, the one where Bokuto didn’t show up, he was in a bad mood. He realizes now that he was taking Bokuto being there for granted. He just assumed the ace would show up, and when he didn’t Akaashi was both disappointed and irritated. On the one hand, he was sad that he didn’t get to see him, and on the other hand, he was angry at Bokuto for standing them up. When Kuroo had told them Bokuto wasn’t going to be there, they all looked at him with concern. He knew they meant well, be he still partly resented the fact that he had become so reliant on Bokuto that his friends felt the need to check his reaction upon learning he wasn’t coming. 

That practice had been the most awkward and most tense game they had. Akaashi was in a horrible mood the whole time and everyone knew. He played more aggressively and everyone tried not to provoke him, even Kuroo and Oikawa. When they were done he had walked back to the apartment by himself to blow off some steam and also so he could be embarrassed without them seeing.  _ When had he ever let his emotions get to him like this?  _ When Oikawa got back after him, he knew better than to bother him so he went straight to his room.

Akaashi was better on Monday and he vowed to try and act like nothing happened. However, that plan failed the second Nishinoya had burst into their biology class and marched right up to Akaashi so he could glare at him.

“What are you doing?” The libero accuses aggressively.

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

Nishinoya steps back so he can lean against the chair in the row in front of them and also still look at Akaashi directly.

“Why are you pushing Bokuto-san away?”

“I-what?”

“Don’t even try and argue, we all agreed in the chat that you’ve been kinda cold towards Bokuto ever since the incident.”

“I have?” the setter answers, genuinely confused.

Nishinoya narrows his eyes at him, but then they go wide with shock a second later.

“Holy crap you really don’t see it. For someone as observant as you, I thought you would have noticed. Anyway yeah, you’ve been kind of mean to him for a while now.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that’s how it came off. I was trying to give us both space to you know, get over the incident.”

  
  
“For a whole month?”   


  
“Ok, I see what you’re saying. But I really didn’t mean to hurt him.”   
  


“Hmmmm. Ok, I believe you, but you should try and fix things with him. I mean, he looks like a kicked puppy whenever you reject him and it’s kinda sad to watch over and over.”

“Ok yeah, I’ll try and talk to him.”

Nishinoya flashes him a bright smile and then goes back to his usual enthusiastic self. The two of them talk about random things like they usually do before class starts, and then everything seems to fall back into its usual routine. Nishinoya doesn’t mention Bokuto again, even when they go to lunch. He does ask about the chat that the libero mentioned earlier though. Nishinoya laughs and tells him that they did indeed start a chat just to discuss the issue with him and Bokuto. Akaashi isn’t sure whether to be touched that they care so much, or frightened at what they could be saying.

During gym with Kuroo, he gets called out again. The middle blocker stalks up to him before class starts and outright tells him he’s stupid. Akaashi doesn’t reply, because he kind of agrees now. Kuroo tells him that he needs to get his act together before things get really messy between them, and then he reminds him that Bokuto is actually a sensitive guy. That’s when Akaashi is reminded that the two of them are best friends and that Kuroo probably knows Bokuto just as well as him.

He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Kuroo so serious before, and it’s kind of terrifying. Akaashi promises he’ll sort things out with Bokuto, and then out of curiosity, he asks Kuroo why they’re only intervening now. Kuroo flat out tells him that he thought they were smart enough to sort their crap out themselves and that he wanted to give them time to solve it themselves first. Then he cheekily says that he never expected that he'd have to come to the rescue to save Akaashi’s relationship with Bokuto since Akaashi is usually the Bokuto expert. The setter has to bite his lip to keep from saying something too scathing. Kuroo just laughs at him and walks off, obviously happy at the reaction he got out of the first-year.

He thought he was done getting scolded, but even Iwaizumi says something to him so he knows it’s bad. The wing spiker talks to Akaashi about it after class and on the way back to the apartment. He isn’t as brutal about it as Nishinoya and Kuroo were, but he uses the same tone of voice as when he’s lecturing Oikawa which is almost worse. Iwaizumi tells him he’ll see him at dinner before disappearing to the alpha apartment while Akaashi enters the omega one. When he opens the door to his flat, he almost runs right into his roommate. Oikawa is standing there with his arms crossed looking like a disappointed Dad, and Akaashi knows what’s coming. He lets out a frustrated sigh and steps around the other omega to go sit on the sofa. Oikawa surprisingly lets him pass. Akaashi slings off his backpack and puts it on the unoccupied chair before slumping on the sofa. Oikawa doesn’t say anything as he sits on the other end of the sofa and turns on the tv.

The two of them end up watching an episode of some weird tv show about sharks in total silence. Akaashi is anxious the whole time. Usually, he likes silence but now it’s just making him nervous. He knows Oikawa wants to say something to him, but he doesn’t know what. They’re halfway into the second episode when Oikawa speaks up, but he doesn’t look away from the tv as he talks.

“Kei-chan, I don’t want you to lose Bokuto.”

Akaashi feels his heart start to race nervously. He stares at Oikawa questioningly, but Oikawa doesn’t look back at him. The second-year doesn’t need to look Akaashi in the eye though for him to understand that Oikawa is serious. His jaw is set, and even though he looks super focused, Akaashi knows it’s not directed towards the show. Oikawa also said Bokuto’s full last name instead of the usual nickname so Akaashi knows to listen closely.

“I know that the incident was really difficult for you and that you needed some time, but you can’t keep pushing Bokuto away. He really cares about you and I’m sure you care about him too. I’ve seen the way you look at him and how in tune with each other you guys are. You remind me of me and Iwa-chan.”

Oikawa finally looks at Akaashi and the younger boy can tell that there’s an underlying meaning to what he said.

“I didn’t mean to push him away. I thought having some space would be ok for a little bit so we could both calm down, and I needed time to sort out my own feelings. Though, I guess that’s kind of stupid because I’ve known what I feel for Bokuto for a long time."

Oikawa gives him a soft smile.

“I totally get what you’re saying.”

  
“What do you mean?”

  
  
“I remember when Iwa-chan and I were second-years in high school. I already knew that I liked Iwa-chan for a long time, but I got scared during our second-year when I realized that I could lose him. I saw how the other omegas were looking at him and wanting to be around him all the time, and I didn’t think I had a chance so I tried to put distance between us. Long story short, that didn’t work out. Our relationship was really strained for a while and I would have lost him if our friends hadn’t done something. So basically, I want to stop you before you do the same thing.”

“I’ve really messed up.”   


  
Oikawa shifts closer to Akaashi and puts an arm around his shoulders to draw him into the older boy’s side. Akaashi breathes in Oikawa’s soothing Jasmine scent as the former captain lets him gather his thoughts.

“You can still fix it. Your relationship with Bo-chan is more awkward than cold right now. He does seem down because you’ve rejected him, but he doesn’t seem angry at you at all. But you need to fix it before it gets worse.”

  
  
“I will,” Akaashi promises.

“Ok,” Oikawa whispers back.

The two of them end up switching the channel to another alien movie, and it’s a nice distraction from the chaos that is his relationship with Bokuto. Akaashi’s eyelids start to droop and he’s about to fall asleep when Oikawa speaks up again.

“Sooooo~,” Oikawa sing songs.

Akaashi opens his eyes all the way and stares at Oikawa. The setter smirks devilishly and raises his eyebrows.

“You like like Bo-chan?” He teases.

Akaashi hits him on the arm and quickly goes back to sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Oikawa gives him an amused smile and Akaashi glares daggers at him.

“Don’t  _ ever  _ say like like again, we’re not in middle school. And do  _ not  _ give Kuroo-san ideas.”

Oikawa simply shrugs, and Akaashi is tempted to kick him out of the apartment.

“Ok seriously though, I’m happy for you. He’s a thousand, no a million times better than  _ Yasuo _ ,” Oikawa spits the other first-year’s name.

Akaashi goes to thank Oikawa when he sees the devilish gleam in the older boy’s eyes. He puts that together with the way that Oikawa just talked about Yasuo and suddenly realizes.

“What did you do?” He asks tiredly.

“Kei-chan that’s rude! What makes you think I did something?”

“Because my instinct is always right.”

“Ok fine, but…

  
  


_ Flashback _

_ “We need to take this kid down. No one gets away with hurting Kei-chan and Kou-chan!” _

_ “I agree but how? We can’t just go to his house and punch him. I mean I’d like to but we don’t know where he lives and I don’t really want to get arrested for breaking and entering.” _

_ “That’s what you’re worried about Tetsu-chan? Anyway, I have an idea. We may not be able to hurt him physically, but we can still destroy him.” _

_ “Ok, I’m listening.” _

_ “So, I have connections, well my parents do and I know their information.” _

_ “Umm are you part of the mafia?” _

_ “No! Pay attention I’m serious.” _

_ “Whatever.” _

_ “Anyway, I looked into this after Kei-chan told us what happened and I found out some useful information. Apparently, Yasuo has a part-time job at this convenience store that my mom’s friend just happens to know the manager of.” _

_ “Are you planning on getting him fired?” _

_ “Obviously. But I want to talk to him first.” _

_ “By talk do you mean interrogate because I’m in.” _

_ “Yes. I thought of various other ways to destroy him but some of them were a little too harsh. I thought about stripping him of his sports scholarship at college, but that’s too cruel and I’m too nice to do that even though he totally deserves it.” _

_ “Damn, you don’t play around. So how are we going to do this without letting Bokuto and Iwaizumi know? _

_ “Oh I’ve already convinced Iwa-chan and I know Kou-chan won’t do anything because Kei-chan asked him not to. Don’t you remember when Kou-chan promised he wouldn’t do anything to Yasuo after Kei-chan pleaded him not to?” _

_ “Oh yeah, if it’s for Akaashi then Bo won’t do anything. He’s totally whipped for him.” _

_ “I know,” Oikawa says happily, “So I’ve already arranged everything, we just need to get over there.” _

_ “Sounds good. It’s kind of nice not having to do anything and just getting to go along for the ride.” _

_ “Yeah, because you’re lazy and I did all the work!” _

_ “All of that is one hundred percent true.” _

_ “Ugh let's just go, we have to be there when Yasuo gets in for his shift.” _

_ “Lead the way princess.” _

_ “...I hate you.” _

_ “But you didn’t deny it.” _

_ Oikawa kicks Kuroo in the shin, hard. The middle blocker just laughs as the setter stalks off. The two of them take the bus a few stops in order to get far enough into Tokyo. After that, it is a short three-minute walk and the two friends find themselves in front of a small, pretty empty shop. Kuroo gives Oikawa a confused look and then the setter points through the window at the guy behind the counter. _

_ “How do you know that’s him?” Kuroo whispers. _

_ “I stalked his social media, duh!” _

_ Kuroo rolls his eyes. He gets another good look at the guy before squaring his shoulders and putting on his most intimidating expression. The middle blocker then steps through the doors and strides over to counter. Yasuo doesn’t even glance up, perfect. Kuroo slams his hand down on the counter and puts on a scowl. Yasuo startles violently and Kuroo lets his scowl slip into an evil smirk. _

_ “Hey, asshole.” _

_ Yasuo’s frightened expression immediately morphs into one of confusion. _

_ “Can I help you?” _

_ “Not really, because you don’t work here anymore,” Kuroo says nonchalantly. _

_ “Excuse you?” _

_ Kuroo can see the other man’s irritation and it just makes him want to pick on Yasuo even more. _

_ “You heard me. You’re fired.” _

_ “Sorry but you’re not my boss. I don’t even know you.” _

_ “But your manager does, and I know her,” Oikawa chimes in. _

_ The setter suddenly appears at Kuroo’s side and he leans across the counter to get into Yasuo’s space. He scans the other for a long moment and even Kuroo feels uncomfortable. Yasuo glares at Oikawa but he doesn’t move. Then Oikawa is suddenly leaning back until his feet touch the ground again and he scoffs. _

_ “I don’t know what Kei-chan ever saw in you. You’re a two at most.” _

_ Yasuo’s eye twitches and Kuroo outright laughs.  _

_ “If you two don’t leave right now I’m calling the police!” The first-year shouts. _

_ “The police can’t help you here buddy. None of us have touched you. In fact, we’re just here to have a little chat.” _

_ “What do you want?” Yasuo bites out. _

_ “We want you to pay for what you did to Bokuto and Akaashi.” _

_ Yasuo’s eyes widen but then he starts laughing, now Kuroo is the one who’s lost. _

_ “So you guys are the ones he’s been screwing with!” _

_ “What did you just say?!” Oikawa hisses. _

_ “Oikawa don’t let him get to you,” Kuroo warns. _

_ “Hmmm. I definitely prefer Keiji, but you aren’t too bad,” Yasuo purrs at the omega. _

_ Oikawa pulls on a disgusted face and steps away from the counter. Kuroo snarls slightly at the other alpha to let him know that the gesture was not appreciated. Yasuo shrugs and Kuroo finds himself getting irritated. He hates this guy’s attitude and he wants to put him in his place. _

_ “Go ahead. Act all tough if you want, but you won’t be so smug when you lose that scholarship of yours,” the middle blocker throws in. _

_ That finally gets Yasuo’s attention. He even looks somewhat apprehensive. _

_ “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” _

_ “We know you have a sports scholarship at college. Wouldn’t it be a shame if your school happened to find out that you harassed and threatened innocent people thus causing you to lose all your money or worse?” Oikawa explains cheekily. _

_ “You wouldn’t,” Yasuo growls. _

_ “No, we won’t as long as you quit your job here and promise never to contact Bokuto or Akaashi ever again.” _

_ “You’re bluffing.”  _

_ “You really wanna test that theory?” _

__ _   
_ _ Oikawa wastes no time in whipping out his phone, pulling something up, and flashing his phone screen in front of the other’s face. Kuroo can’t see what Oikawa’s showing Yasuo from this angle, but whatever it is has an effect. Yasuo scowls darkly and crosses his arms. _

_ “Fine. Whatever, you win. I’ll quit and I won’t bother those two again, happy?” _

_   
_ _   
_ __ “Yes. Also,” The setter puts both hands on his hips and looks Yasuo directly in the eyes, “If you break your promise, I’ll make sure to break you.”

_ With that, Oikawa skips to the door and exits the store like nothing happened. Kuroo growls at Yasuo and finds himself smiling at Yasuo’s dark expression as he too leaves the store. The setter is already a few paces ahead of him, so Kuroo jogs a little bit to catch up with him. _

_ “Hey.” _

_   
_ _   
_ __ “Hey.”

_ “What did you show Yasuo?” _

_ “Oh, that,” Oikawa smirks, “It was a list of my contacts, the top one being the principal of his college and the second one being his mom. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m quite good at being charming. It would be a walk in the park to convince his mom to force him to transfer schools, or even to another city.” _

_   
_ _   
_ __ “Wow. You are one dangerous man.”

_   
_ _   
_ __ “I know!”

_   
_ _   
_ __ “Is it bad that I still kind of want to punch him though? I know we resolved everything, but I was really hoping to get a punch in.”

_   
_ _   
_ __ “Nope, but trust me. If he breaks his promise, then I’m all for you decking him in the face and even sticking Kou-chan on him. I felt that this was a better way of dealing with it though. If we had gotten physical then things would have been more complicated.”

_ “Yeah that’s true. Wanna get ice cream?” _

_ “Only if you’re paying!” _

_   
_ _ “...fine.” _

_ After solving the “issue,” both friends agreed to never speak of the situation again unless the need arose. _

  
  


Present

  
“Just so you know,” Oikawa huffs, “It wasn’t just me, Kuroo-san also had something to do with it. Also, Yasuo deserved far worse anyway.”

Akaashi slaps his palm to his forehead, he knew this would happen.   
  



	7. Fixing This Mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the delayed last chapter! There was a lot of prepping and training before school starts. Anyway, enjoy the last chapter!

After his “intervention,” Akaashi set out to fix things with Bokuto. His friends went back to teasing him and provoking each other like usual at dinner with the tense atmosphere gone. He let them for once because they did help him out in the end, but he was very tempted to hit Kuroo and Oikawa multiple times. 

He’s currently sitting on his bed staring at his phone and trying to muster up the courage to call Bokuto. He thinks it’s safe to ask Bokuto out to coffee or something simple like that. He doesn’t think he wants to confess right now, after all, he still doesn’t know for sure if Bokuto likes him back, but he does want to apologize. Akaashi closes his eyes and lets out a short puff of air before unlocking his phone and dialing Bokuto’s number. It rings three times and then-

“Hey hey heyyyy! This is Bokuto!”

  
  
“Hi um Bokuto-san-,”

“I can’t answer the phone right now so leave a message! Sorry in advance if I don’t respond but I’ll try!”

With that, the answering machine Bokuto cuts off. Akaashi sits there, stunned.  _ Maybe he’s busy? But he’s never ignored my calls before.  _ The setter anxiously decides to text Bokuto hoping that he’ll respond to that message. He wanted to call Bokuto first and tell him that he wanted to meet up in person because he wanted to seem sincere. He prays that Bokuto answers his text. Akaashi asks Bokuto if he’s free Friday or sometime over the weekend and that he wants to meet up. Once he’s done typing it out and sends it, he quickly shuts off his phone and puts it back on his nightstand. He can’t just wait around for Bokuto to respond or he’ll go crazy.

Akaashi tries not to worry about it too much, but he can’t help it.  _ What if he’s too late? What if Bokuto hates him now? What if he’s already lost him?  _ The omega flips onto his stomach and tries to think about anything else. He doesn’t think he can handle thinking about losing Bokuto right now. Despite what he told himself earlier, he keeps checking his phone every couple of minutes. He knows he’s stressing himself out, but he can’t stop. He needs confirmation that there is still hope for him to fix things. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come, at least not that night.

Akaashi checks his phone one last time at two am and realizes that Bokuto isn’t going to text him back. He can’t help the disappointment and hurt that floods him after that, but he knows that he can’t just let things end like this. Honestly, he feels like he kind of deserves the silent treatment. The setter turns off his lamp and turns his phone on silent before plugging it in. If this is what it feels like to be rejected, then he understands why his friends were so frustrated with him. That’s why he’s going to talk to Bokuto, he’s going to solve this even if it hurts.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


“Why are our friends so stupid?”

“I don’t know.”   


  
“Yeah, I thought things were getting better.”

“Kei-chan looks kinda rough if I’m being honest.”

Oikawa, Kuroo, Iwaizumi, and Nishinoya are currently crammed into Oikawa and Akaashi’s living room. Kuroo decided to hold another intervention after Bokuto didn’t show up to Friday’s volleyball match again or when they all got together to hang out on Sunday. He would have let it slide, but Bokuto made it pretty obvious that he was avoiding Akaashi, but Kuroo didn’t know why. He called his friend after their match and when he was back at his own apartment. He asked Bokuto if anything was going on, and when he answered vaguely Kuroo decided to ask about Akaashi.

Bokuto had instantly tried to change the topic and Kuroo knew it had something to do with Akaashi. He knew the setter had been trying to contact Bokuto, but he didn’t realize that Bokuto was ignoring him. Akaashi hadn’t really told them anything, so none of them knew what was going on. All they knew was that Akaashi has started looking more worn out and he was doing the thing where he wrings his hands anxiously a lot more. When Kuroo straight up asked Bokuto if he was avoiding Akaashi, he didn’t even bother denying it, but he didn’t say why. Kuroo tried to tell him that they really needed to talk, but then Bokuto hung up and started ignoring him too.

Their friends are being super frustrating and Kuroo kind of wants to just lock them in the gym closet so they can sort out their crap. He’s tired of them dancing around each other and hurting each other when it’s obvious that they’re meant to be together. This is why he called another intervention, they are going to get Akaashi and Bokuto to talk to each other if it’s the last thing they do.

“Guys, we need to get them to talk ASAP, for their sanity and ours. So, any ideas?”

“We lock them in the gym closet!” Nishinoya shouts.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought!”

  
  
“Kuroo no, that’s a horrible idea. We want them to like each other, not kill each other,” Iwaizumi scoffs.

“Ugh, that’s no fun.”

“What if we text them separately and ask them to meet for coffee, but when they both get there and we leave and they have to talk to each other!” Oikawa says happily.

Kuroo, Iwaizumi, and Nishinoya give the setter a deadpan look.

“No crappykawa, we are not going to pull some shoujo manga crap on them.” 

“Where are they anyway?” Nishinoya asks.

“Ummm I saw Akaashi heading somewhere on my way over here, but I don’t know where he was going.”

  
  
“I don’t know either. He left soon after getting back from classes, but he didn’t tell me where he was going.”

“Hold on, I’ll text him.”

  
  
Oikawa pulls out his phone from his pocket and types out a message to the younger setter. Kuroo thinks for a moment before pulling his phone out too.

“I’m going to text Bokuto. I know he’s ignoring me, but it’s worth a shot.”

Surprisingly, Oikawa’s phone is the first to go off. The omega reads the message carefully before relaying the information.

“Kei-chan’s at the coffee shop in that shopping mall a few blocks away. He really likes that place.”

  
  
“Really now?” Kuroo smirks.

Iwaizumi glares at Neokoma’s former captain.

“Stop. I know that look, and whatever you’re planning I’m already against it.”

“Oh come on roomie! It’s a good plan!”

“Ok first of all, never call me roomie, second of all, none of your plans have ever ended up working out.”

“Ouch! Iwa-chan is savage!”

“I kind of want to hear what he’s thinking.”

  
  
“Noya-chan! Don’t encourage this!”

“Noya-chan! Hey, I’ve been upgraded! Also, out of all of us, I thought you’d be on Kuroo-san’s side.”

“I mean I am curious, but I would rather not suffer Iwa-chan’s wrath.”

“Ok, fair enough.”

“Anyway,” Kuroo interrupts, “I think we should pull a shoujo manga thing like Oikawa suggested earlier.”

“I thought you didn’t like my idea?”

  
  
“Yeah, but they’re kind of asking for it. I mean, Akaashi’s literally sitting in a coffee shop alone, probably pining over Bokuto and moping about how it’s probably his fault.”

“Actually that’s a fair point. They’ve also been unnecessarily avoiding each other too,” the libero adds.

Iwaizumi facepalms. It already sounds dumb, but then again, his friends are acting dumb. 

“Are we seriously about to do this?” 

“Yup, after Bokuto tells me where he is.”

  
  
“Ok, can I just suggest something then?”

  
  
“Sure.”   


  
“We need to actually escort Bokuto to the coffee place instead of just asking him to meet us there over a text. It needs to seem realistic. Also, you shouldn’t go confront Bokuto by yourself, one of us needs to go with you.”

Oikawa gives Iwaizumi a shocked look.

“Iwa-chan, you’re more mischievous than I thought!”

“What!?”

  
  
“Nothing nothing! Sorry I said anything!”

“I think Iwaizumi-san should go with Kuroo-san,” Nishinoya suggests.

“Actually yeah that’s a good idea.”   


  
“Then I’ll go hang out with Kei-chan!”

  
  
“No!” All of them collectively object.

Oikawa actually pouts.

“Sorry trash king, but Akaashi would see right through you,” Kuroo laughs.

“And he wouldn’t see right through  _ you _ ?” The setter shoots back.

“And that’s why the two of us are not going to be ones talking to Akaashi. Nishinoya-kun should.”

“That’s fine with me!” 

“How is Noya-chan suddenly showing up  _ not  _ going to make Kei-chan suspicious?” Oikawa counters.

“I could just say that I was meeting a friend there and happened to see him.”

  
  
“Would he really believe that though? Iwaizumi frowns.

“I can make it believable. I can just tell him that my friend is late and tell some random story about my friend. Akaashi-san is a good listener, he listens to all the crap I say even when I’m just rambling, so it might work. I mean at least it will distract him.” 

“Uhhhh-”

“You got anything better Iwaizumi?”

  
  
“Fine, I guess that works.”

“Wait what am I gonna do?” Oikawa whines.

“Maybe you can just hang out in some nearby store in case one of them tries to run!” Nishinoya offers.

“Why does this sound like an undercover operation?”

“I mean, I’m cool with that.”

  
  
“Yay! I get to be the spy!”

“Oh no.”

“What do you mean oh no Iwa-chan?”

  
  
“Nevermind. Kroo did Bokuto text you back?”

“Oh let me check.”

Kuroo picks up his phone from beside him on the carpet and sees the text notification. He’s honestly surprised that Bokuto responded. He quickly unlocks his phone to read the whole message. The ace is asking him what’s up, apologizes for being mean with way too many emojis, and then finally tells him where he’s at. Kuroo texts Bokuto that it’s ok and that he’s coming to hang out and Iwaizumi is with him. When he looks up, the other three are looking at him expectantly.

“So it appears our odds of this plan working have gone up.”   


  
“What do you mean?”

  
  
“Bokuto seems like he’s in an apologetic mood which means his defenses are down. He’ll probably just follow us to the cafe without any questions, that's what it means. Now is the time to act! Also, he’s just in his room, which I thought, but I wanted to make sure.”

  
  
“Alright let’s go!”   
  


They all get up and go to grab their jackets before heading out. It takes them only three minutes to get to the front of the school, and then they’re splitting up to go their separate ways. Kuroo tells Nishinoya to keep Akaashi occupied as long as possible and to text in the chat if anything happens before he walks off in the other direction with Iwaizumi. They’ve got a plan, now they just have to execute it, and Kuroo really hopes it’s going to work.

  
  
  
  


* * *

Akaashi quietly finishes the rest of his coffee as he thinks of a way to track down Bokuto. At this point, he knows Bokuto is avoiding him on purpose. It’s been a while since they’ve talked so Akaashi isn’t sure if Bokuto is mad at him for rejecting him recently or for another reason. All he knows is that he can’t take any more of the suspense. He wants his friend back. He may like Bokuto as more than that, but if it results in a situation worse than it is now, then he would rather just stay friends with the ace. Not having him in his life at all would be worse than just remaining friends forever, theoretically. He knows Bokuto’s apartment number so he could technically just pop over there and see him, but he knows that would just make things worse.

He needs to confront Bokuto casually.  _ Maybe after his volleyball practice? No that’s dumb, I can’t embarrass him in front of his teammates. Maybe at the park, I know he runs there in the morning on the weekends.  _ The setter is still mulling over different ideas as he gets up and throws his cup away. He walks out of the cafe through the back door and suddenly spots two familiar figures. He blinks a couple of times to make sure he’s not imagining things and then just waits outside. He knows they’ll see him in a couple of seconds. Oikawa and Nishinoya walk a few feet down the opposite sidewalk and then stop abruptly when they spot him. The look on their faces is a mixture of surprise, horror, and maybe embarrassment, and Akaashi finds himself smirking.

Oikawa looks both ways before bounding across the street with Nishinoya behind him. The older boy plasters on a huge grin and instantly clings onto Akaashi’s arm. 

“Kei-chan! What are you doing here?” He squeals right in Akaashi’s ear.

“Oikawa-san, you literally texted me where I was a few minutes ago.”

  
  
“Oh yeah! I forgot. Anyway, I was just wondering because you didn’t tell me where you going when you left after your classes.”

  
  
“I’m sorry, I honestly thought I told you.”

  
  
“It’s ok! Now we can all go shopping!”

  
“What?”

“There’s a clothes store that I’ve really wanted to go to over here, but Iwa-chan never wants to come with me. I can go now though! And now I can help you guys upgrade your wardrobe!”

  
  
“Did you just say we look like trash?” Nishinoya shouts.

“No, you said it.”

“Ok calm down. We can go.”

Akaashi steps in between Nishinoya and Oikawa before the libero can launch himself at the laughing setter. Oikawa sticks his tongue out at Nishinoya and Akaashi rolls his eyes before Oikawa finally starts walking. He leads them through a couple of alleys before they eventually end up at one of the larger clothing stores that faces a busy road. Akaashi can feel himself getting a headache already, the store is three stories and he knows how long Oikawa takes when he shops. It’s going to be a while. Well, at least it’ll take his mind off of Bokuto for a bit. 

Oikawa practically skips into the store and Akaashi and Nishinoya share a look before following him. The second-year immediately veers to the right and starts speed walking forward.

“Oikawa-san where are you going?!”

Akaashi and Nishinoya quickly adjust their pace to keep up with Oikawa. The other boy doesn’t answer until he suddenly stops at one of the clothing racks at the back of the store. Nishinoya and Akaashi stop just in time to prevent themselves from running into their friends.

“What was that for?!” The libero groans. 

Oikawa shifts through the clothes until he finds the shirt he wants and holds it up for them to see like it’s some kind of trophy.

“This is the real reason we’re here my friends! Behold! This is the only store I’ve found so far in college that sells rare, quality alien t-shirts in my size!”

  
“You have got to be kidding me,” Nishinoya sighs.

Akaashi hums in agreement. Oikawa scoffs at them and tells them both that they’re just jealous. He then proceeds to pick out at least ten more shirts, one of them has Godzilla so it’s probably for Iwaizumi and then points at Akaashi and Nishinoya.

“I shall give you two both a makeover after I finish looking!”

“Ugh noooo. You’ll take forever!” Nishinoya groans.

“Um I take offense to that! I do not take that long.”

“Yes you do.”

“Well if you have a problem with it maybe we should all just split up and meet back here in a little bit.” Oikawa suggests cooly.”

“Actually I think that’s a good idea,” Akaashi interjects.

The libero and older setter suddenly share a look that he can’t decipher. 

“Is there something wrong?” He asks.

“No, just text me where you are, or else I’ll have to track you down,” Oikawa warns.

“What are you? Our mom?” Nishinoya jokes.

Oikawa huffs but doesn’t object and Akaashi just sighs.

“I’ll text you where I am when I get there. I’m leaving now.”

Oikawa goes back to looking at clothes and Nishinoya waves at him as he walks to the escalator to go up a floor. Akaashi wanders over to look at some solid colored t-shirts and nice pants on the opposite side of the store. He’s gone through multiple articles of clothing when he chances a look at the window and spots Bokuto Koutarou. He feels himself freeze. His body is frozen in place, but his eyes still follow the ace as he walks down the street with Iwaizumi and Kuroo.

He notes that Bokuto seems kind of tense, and maybe even a little angry. It’s almost as if Iwaizumi and Kuroo are cops trying to prevent a criminal from running away with how guarded they’re acting around Bokuto. Akaashi watches until they’re almost out of view when they suddenly stop in front of a fountain. Bokuto suddenly rips his way out between the other two boys and turns to face them. Akaashi can’t tell what he’s saying, but he can clearly see their body language.

Bokuto is leaning forward into Kuroo’s face, body stiff, and he’s obviously yelling at him. Kuroo has taken a step back and he’s holding his hands in front of him innocently trying to placate Bokuto. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi is standing a little off to the side and is watching the two boys patiently, ready to jump in and stop them if he has to. Akaashi snaps out of his daze and walks closer to the window to get a better idea of what’s going on. 

He watches as Kuroo eventually snaps and starts yelling back at Bokuto. That’s when Iwaizumi steps in and separates them. Bokuto has his chest puffed out like he’s ready to fight, and Akaashi is so grateful that Iwaizumi was there to stop him. Bokuto shouts one last thing before shaking off Iwaizumi’s grip on his arm and walking away, still fuming. Kuroo makes to go after him, but Iwaizumi puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head. After a few seconds, the two of them turn and start heading Akaash’s direction. 

He quickly turns around and retreats back in further to the store, hoping that he wasn’t spotted. He’s not entirely sure what happened, but he needs to find Bokuto. Something in his gut is telling him that it’s the right thing to do. The setter pulls out his phone and shoots out a text to Oikawa, letting him know that he’s stepping out of the store for a bit but he’ll be back. Then he makes his way downstairs and stealthily avoids being seen by Iwaizumi and Kuroo before escaping outside.

He tries to walk as fast as he can past the fountain and out of the clothing store’s view in fear of being spotted by one of his friends. He ends up walking past a pretty quiet part of the shopping strip. There’s no one in sight. Even though he can’t see anyone, including Bokuto, he can still smell all the different scents. He easily picks up on which one is Bokuto’s though and continues following it down the sidewalk. He can smell the older boy’s frustration clearly now so he knows he’s close. 

Akaashi slows down as he reaches the end of the sidewalk and carefully peeks around the corner of one of the stores. He watches Bokuto march across the street to the nearby park and slump down onto one of the benches. The ace then proceeds to cross his arms and try to bore a hole into the ground with his eyes.

Akaashi stays where he is and tries to give his friend some space before approaching him. He takes in Bokuto’s furrowed brows, his deep frown, and his stormy eyes. Whatever he argued with Kuroo about made him pretty upset. The setter recognizes that it’s different from Bokuto’s dejected mode because he can tell he’s more irritated than sad, but he doesn’t know if that’s better.

Akaashi waits until he smells Bokuto’s scent start to even out until it’s only mildly frustrated. Then he wordlessly crosses the street and slowly makes his way over to Bokuto. The other boy doesn’t move an inch. Akaashi gracefully slides onto the bench until he’s shoulder to shoulder with Bokuto, and that’s when Bokuto finally looks at him, the physical contact must have snapped him out of it.

The ace’s eyes widen in surprise, but then he quickly moves away until he’s almost falling off the bench. Akaashi tries to hide his hurt, but he’s not sure how effective it is. The two of them sit in a tense and awkward silence, none of them knowing what to say after weeks of avoiding each other. Surprisingly, Bokuto is the one who speaks up first. 

“What are you doing here?” The ace asks warily.

“I was shopping with Oikawa. And I was worried about you,” he adds on suddenly.

Bokuto snaps his head over at the second part of his sentence and frowns confusedly.

“You were worried about me?”

_ I always worry about you he thinks in his head. _

“Yes. I saw you arguing with Kuroo-san.”

“Oh. I didn’t think you’d see that. He told me you were in the area, but I didn’t realize you were that close.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“...no.”

Akaashi is a little surprised because Bokuto is usually so open with him. He can’t deny that it’s painful. It’s his fault that things have changed though so he doesn’t try and stop the self-deprecating thoughts. Bokuto goes back to staring at the ground and Akaashi starts fiddling with fingers and wringing his hands nervously. The longer the silence stretches, the more he gets wrapped up in his head.

Suddenly, Bokuto lets out a long sigh and turns his body to face Akaashi. He looks deadly serious and the setter sucks in a breath in anticipation.

“Akaashi, I don’t know if we can be friends anymore.”

“W-what?” He breathes.

It feels like he’s been punched in the gut and his heart clenches painfully. He hopes Bokuto meant something different and that he just messed up the phrasing like he does a lot, but his gaze doesn’t waver. Bokuto looks more serious than Akaashi’s ever seen him, so he decides to give up. The setter sees the ace open his mouth to continue talking, but he doesn’t want to hear it and bolts away from the bench as fast as he can. 

He focuses on the sound of his feet slapping the ground as he sprints away and tries to wipe his mind of any thoughts as he just continues running. He knows that if he stops now, then his thoughts and feelings will surely overwhelm him and he’ll definitely break down. His lungs are burning, but he doesn’t stop until he feels like he’ll actually collapse.

Akaashi sprints the last few feet and then comes to a stop in front of a deserted bus stop. He bends over and tries to catch his breath when he hears panting behind him. Akaashi looks over his shoulder and sees Bokuto breathing heavily a few feet behind him. He’s surprised Bokuto ran after him, but he’s more troubled by the fact that just the sight of his friend has tears pooling in his eyes. 

He quickly stands up and blinks rapidly as he tries to compose himself. Bokuto takes a step forward and Akaashi takes one back, trying to keep the distance between them.

“Akaashi?” Bokuto asks gently.

The setter doesn’t trust his voice because he can feel the lump in his throat and he’s barely keeping the tears at bay. He doesn’t say anything nor does he move.

“I’m sorry.”

That answer just rubs salt in the wound, and he finds himself speaking out of bitterness.

“Don’t. I already know how you feel about me now so stop rubbing in.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Bokuto answers.

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better Bokuto-san,” he spits bitterly.

“I’m not.”

Bokuto doesn’t say anything after that, and Akaashi just gets frustrated and starts walking away. He doesn’t get far. Bokuto lets him walk a couple of steps before grabbing his wrist, and Akaashi shakes him off. The first-year stares off into the distance, trying not to sniffle because then Bokuto would know he’s crying.

“Akaashi,” Bokuto starts again, “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Akaashi wants to say that Bokuto is what’s wrong, but he doesn’t trust himself not to cry and he would feel too guilty. He ends up relaxing his shoulders in defeat, but he doesn’t reply or turn around to face the other boy. Bokuto isn’t fazed though. 

“I know that I’m not the most observant person, but even I know that you’re upset. And I know that it’s probably because of me, so I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean what I said earlier in a mean way. I was trying to be cool with my confession, but I guess it totally backfired. Anyway, I’m sorry. I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore,” Bokuto trails off sadly. 

A tiny part of his brain registers that Bokuto has fallen into his normal dejected mode, but the rest of it is short-circuiting at what the ace just said. He turns around and carefully searches Bokuto’s golden eyes for any trace of a lie, there is none. His eyes are open and honest and Akaashi can smell Bokuto’s stable scent, he’s trying to project reliability and comfort. 

“Did you just say something about a confession?” Akaashi asks shakily.

Bokuto’s face turns pink and he nods before looking away.

“What were you trying to confess?” He prods.

“Agkaaaaaashi!” Bokuto moans, “Don't make me say it! This is already embarrassing enough because I messed up!”

“Hey.” Akaashi puts a hand on his hip and gives Bokuto a hard stare, “You at least owe me this for freaking me out earlier.”

“I’m sorry, please don’t cry again. I hate seeing you sad, and it also makes me just feel really guilty.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you noticed.”

“I did, and sorry again. I’m sorry for ignoring you for so long, I’m sorry our relationship has been weird recently, I’m sorry for making you upset, and I’m sorry it took me this long to finally admit that I love you. There are a lot of things I feel like I should apologize for, but I feel like those are the most important.”

Akaashi stands there speechless. He’s not really sure what to say, so he does what feels right instead. He grabs the front of Bokuto’s shirt and pulls him in for a kiss. After Bokuto gets over the initial shock, he puts a hand on the lower part Akaashi’s back to draw him in and one on his cheek before kissing back desperately. It’s perfect, and Akaashi revels in Bokuto’s warmth. He feels like he’s meant to be here, right in Bokuto’s arms and finally happy. He doesn’t have to deny his feelings for his friend anymore because they’re returned. 

When Akaashi pulls back, he sees Bokuto grinning at him ear to ear, and it’s the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. The setting sun creates a nice romantic atmosphere and makes the ace look absolutely stunning paired with his elated expression.

“I’m really lucky,” he whispers out loud.

Bokuto’s face turns pink but he laughs happily anyway.

“I’m really lucky too, I have the best boyfriend ever! He forgave me even after messing up the confession!"

Now it’s Akaashi’s turn to blush. Bokuto smiles fondly at him and then draws Akaashi into his chest. The setter breathes in Bokuto’s cinnamon scent and smiles when he realizes that it’s taken on a sweeter edge, it means he’s happy. He finds himself at bliss and doesn’t even notice he’s purring until Bokuto points it out.

“Are you purring?” Bokuto asks amused.

Akaashi buries his face deeper into Bokuto’s chest so he doesn’t have to reveal how red his face is. The ace lightly drops his chin onto the top of Akaashi’s head after he pulls back a little bit and tightens his hold. Akaashi can feel the older boy’s chest start to vibrate soothingly as the ace purrs.

“Hey Akaashi,” he suddenly whispers. 

“Hmmmmm,” the setter hums back.

“I love you!”

Akaashi feels his heart swell with affection and pulls back to lock lips with Bokuto before answering.

“I love you too!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Bonus

Akaashi later found out that his friends had figured out where they had gone and spied on them. Kuroo showed him the pictures and Iwaizumi had to stop him and Bokuto from killing Nekoma’s former captain. As revenge, Akaashi made Kuroo tell him what he and Bokuto had fought about the day he confessed and asked Kenma to scold him too. Kuroo ended up spilling that he had told Bokuto that Yasuo was trying to win him back and that he needed to do something to stop them. He admitted that he was trying to rile Bokuto up and make him jealous so he would finally confess. It didn’t really go well, Bokuto ended up exploding on Kuroo instead and Kuroo had yelled back until Bokuto stormed off. The rest is history. The two best friends made up after that and now everything is at peace again. Everyone is getting along and Akaashi couldn’t be happier. He’s got amazing friends and an even better boyfriend.


End file.
